


Little Button Eyes

by Needs_A_Little_Space



Series: Little Button Eyes [1]
Category: A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Body Horror, Character Death, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, F/M, M/M, Mild Gore, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:14:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 24,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26547343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Needs_A_Little_Space/pseuds/Needs_A_Little_Space
Summary: Mu has never liked her family. Her parents were boring and strict, but worse of all they had to move from their lovely home to a creepy apartment complex full of weirdos.But everything changes when Mu discovers a secret part of the house, with a hidden door. It leads to a bizarre world where everything is fun and revolves around Mu. The weirdest thing however has to be the button eyes they have, and the cheery attitudes.
Relationships: Cooking Cat & Mustache Girl (A Hat in Time), Mustache Girl & Queen Vanessa (A Hat in Time), Mustache Girl & Snatcher (A Hat in Time), The Conductor & DJ Grooves (A Hat in Time), The Conductor/DJ Grooves (A Hat in Time)
Series: Little Button Eyes [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1930504
Comments: 6
Kudos: 71





	1. Moving

**Author's Note:**

> I’m sure you can tell by the summary that this is a mixture of A Hat in Time and Coraline. Mu takes the place of Coraline (I got other plans for Hat Kid but honestly I can see Mu more as Coraline since they are both rude and brash.) and follows the similar storyline (Only big changes are the neighbors and having Vanessa as the Other Mother)
> 
> (Also want to note that all characters are human in the real world, but ones who were originally not would look like their canon selves in the other world. I’m probably gonna share some art here too depending how things turn out)

“It’s not fair!”

Mu pouted in the back of the car seat, arms crossed as she stared out the window. A few months ago her parents declared that due to job promotions they would be moving out of the state. Her stupid parents, and their stupid jobs. They would always be typing away at their computers, leaving Mu to do nothing all day. And Mu despised boredom.

Her mom sat in the passengers seat looking at the map with her deadpan face. “We’ve told you months in advance we would be moving,” she sighed. “And besides I think getting out of the city life would be good for us.”

  
Her dad who was handling the wheel chipped in, “Plus the new house is huge! And it’s got a nice garden outback.”  
  
“But you guys hate gardening,” Mu growled. “And aren’t we sharing the house?”

Her father answered back, “Well, from what the landlord said we got two neighbors up on the roof, and two in the basement.”

“So we got a bunch of strangers living above and below us. That sounds exciting.” Mu returned with sarcasm in her voice.

The GPS system interrupted Mu before she could complain more, and continued staring out the window thinking to herself. A whole new house, but with strangers nearby.

_Well they wouldn’t be strangers overtime, but it still felt odd. I hope the garden looks nice,_ Mu daydreams. _Maybe we can grow flowers for when my old friends visit. Would they come though? Would I even have any new friends? God I’m gonna be in a big boring house with nobody aren’t I? And mom and dad are gonna say we would do something together but instead they will just do stupid work. I hate this. I just want things to go back to normal!_

•••

After a few hours of endless driving, with only trees to stare at (Mu was going insane over how dull it was) they arrived. The moving truck seemed to be there was well, with two workers unloading some boxes. Mu’s dad stepped out of the drivers seat to help them while Mu’s mom grabbed stuff from the trunk of the car.  
  
Mu looked at her new home. It was a tall and dull looking house. There was barely any color other than different shades of brown, and the windows looked dirty. By first glance it looked like nobody has lived inside the house for years. But the one thing that caught Mu’s attention was the size. The house looked as big as a mansion.

_No wonder we got people living with us,_ she realized. _They turned this place into an apartment complex!_

By the front door, Mu noticed a stairway leading up to a balcony by the rooftop. Nearby was another stairway leading to what appeared to be a cellar. _Guess that’s where the neighbors are._  
  
After looking around the porch, Mu stepped inside the house for the first time. She only saw pictures and even those didn’t fully illustrate how monotoned the inside looked. The walls were gray, the wooden floors looked old and creaky, and the remaining furniture left behind was covered in dust. The inside wasn’t too big however. There was a dining room and kitchen, two bedrooms upstairs, two offices, a parlor, and a boiler room. It all felt so plain.

She dragged her feet around the house groaning, “This place looks gross!”

Her mom was going down the stairs at the time carrying an empty box. “Stop being so moody,” she glared at Mu. “This house hasn’t been touched in years, it’ll take a while before it looks nice.”

“But why this house? Why couldn’t we find another place?”

“Your father got a nice deal from the landlord. They’ve been meaning to rent out this place and fix it up. We promised them to help out with refurbishing the house and garden while we stay.”

Before Mu could spit out another complaint, her mom shoved an empty box in her hands. “And you better start unpacking. Your room is upstairs to the left.”

Her mom walked off, and Mu started mumbling as she dragged the cardboard box to leave by the door and went upstairs to check out her new room.

•••

_This room sucks._  
  
The walls were white like an asylum, a mattress laid on the ground (until they could set up her bed at least), and all of her stuff sat by an old fireplace (which looks like it was never cleaned). Mu immediately left her room after staring at the horrific sight.

“God this house is the worst!” She whined while walking down the hallway.

But something caught her attention. Another room, one that looks like her parents never mentioned. Mu opened the door, to find an abandoned looking nursery. The only room with color, and even then it looked dull. The walls were dark blue with stars, a crib stood against the wall, toys littered the ground. She stepped over them carefully and saw the creepiest thing yet: A doll. Not just a doll. It was laying against a door, which seemed to be covered up by the wallpaper. It has a red hoodie, with yellow hair, and a little mustache.

_The doll looked exactly like her._

Mu shrugged off the creepy feeling, “Probably just a coincidence.”

Her gaze turned to the door, and she noticed the keyhole for the door. Curiosity got the better of her, Mu had to open the door.

“HEY MOM,” Mu yelled. “WHERE DOES THIS DOOR GO?”

Downstairs her mom yelled back, “Mu I’m busy!”

“ITS LOCKED! PLEASE?”

She heard footsteps as her mom walked into the nursery. “Strange,” she mumbled. “Don’t remember seeing this room.” She she was holding a metal ring covered with keys that she brought from downstairs.

“If I help you with this do you promise to be more quiet AND unpack your belongings?” Mu nodded and snatched the keys from her mom.

With some help, they found the right key, one with a crown shaped end. They cut the wallpaper around the door, and opened it up to find...

“Bricks?! Are you kidding me!” Her mom closed the door, “They probably sealed it off when they divided up the house.”

“Then where does the door go?”

Mu’s mom ignored the question and snapped back, “We made a deal. Now go unpack!”

Mu sat by the door as her mom stormed off, “...You didn’t lock it.” She could hear her mom groan in frustration from downstairs.


	2. Meeting Coco

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mu goes and checks out the garden. She ends up meeting with one of her new neighbors as well. But even that can’t make her change her mind about how horrible her new home was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we get to meet one of the neighbors. Thought I should mention: Since it seemed weird to have human neighbors called Cooking Cat or Conductor, so I gave them names. (They will be called by their original names in the other world)
> 
> So you don’t get confused-Coco(Cooking Cat), Markus(Mafia Boss), Amos(Conductor), and James(Grooves)

Mu walked outside her house heading to the garden. Just as she expected: Everything was brown and dead.

_God, even outside is just as bad._

The girl brushed her hand against the dying bushes surrounding the edges of the garden, feeling the leaves. Back home, Mu loved being outside. She lived near the only bike paths outside the city limits. So her friends would often join her with exploring. They would sneak over the fences by the path to check out what’s out of bounds from hikers. During the summer they would see snakes slithering by rocks. One day they even found a creek. The rest of the day was just Mu and her friends sitting over the creek, and watching little minnows swim by their feet.

_I miss that creek. I bet this lousy place doesn’t even have anything similar._

“Well howdy! You must be one of the new neighbors.”

Startled, Mu turned around to see a middle age women carrying a bag of groceries. “I went out to grab some things, and I was hoping to make it home before y’all show up. But I guess I’ll just have to make do!”

Mu was quiet as the lady talked. She was rather short (but not as small as Mu), was a bit plump, and had short ginger hair that was looked messy and stuck out of place. Two tufts of messy hair made it look like she had cat ears at first glance. But what caught Mu’s attention was her skin. It wasn’t just one solid color, it was like she had different shades of brown and fawn on her face. Like patches.

_She really does seem like a cat._

“Oh, where are my manners! My name is Coco, I work as a chef at a restaurant down the road. What’s your name hun?”

Mu snapped out of her train of thought, “Oh, it’s Mu.”

Coco shifted the bag in her hands and held one out to greet Mu, “Well it’s a pleasure. Say Mu, by any chance are you fine with eating anything with meat? I was planning on making a nice welcome meal for you guys. After all, I’d like to get acquainted with my new neighbors below me.”

“You live on the roof?” Mu asked, looking up at the top of the house.

“Well, more like an attic space. I’ve been up there for two years now. Mark’s been living next door since I’ve arrived. He’s a bit loud at times but it’s not like I’m home much as it is!”

Coco then points towards the area leading to the cellar, “Thats where Amos and James live. I wouldn’t be envy of your spot in the house, cause that short fella sure can shout. He probably has anger issues, but I never got to ask. Most people so far have kept to themselves. Maybe that’ll change down the road. I would love to get together and get to know them more...”

_...wow she really likes to talk. I wonder if the other neighbors avoid each other? Maybe they just move on with their lives, not really caring._

Mu’s thoughts were once again cut off by Coco stating that she had to get moving. “I got cold stuff in here, and don’t want that to get warm. It’s a bit too humid and yucky out for my taste. It was nice to meet you Mu. And watch out by the garden! There’s poison oak.”

Coco went up the stairs, and vanished from Mu’s sight.

The girl could feel her hands getting irritated, and began to scratch them. Looking down, she noticed a red rash around her palms.

_For Gods sake—_

•••

It was getting late, her first night in this brand new house.

Coco didn’t bring a meal like she said (her mom decided to invite Coco to dinner later this week along with the other neighbors) so Mu was left eating the remaining snacks she packed on the car ride.

“Sorry there’s not much to eat for dinner munchkin.” Her dad arrived at her room while she was eating. “Your mom plans to go grocery shopping soon.”

Mu groans, “They probably only have gross stuff here to eat anyways.”

Her dad sat by her bedside, “I know you aren’t too excited about the new house. But this will be a nice start for the family. Your mother and I are gonna finish the catalog, you’ll meet new friends at your new school, and this house will look better in no time.”

“But I don’t wanna have a new start!”

Her dad didn’t continue, he only brought up something he was carrying out of Mu’s vision. It was the doll from the nursery. The one that looked exactly like her.

“I found this doll in the nursery. Funny, how it looks quite like you. Down to even your little mustache.”

“I saw it earlier today,” Mu respond. “I like her cloak though.” She motions to the red cloak the doll was wearing. It made the doll looked like a thief, or a rebel. It kind of resembled Mu’s red jacket. It was the same color and was quite big on her. When unzipped, it would hang like a cape as she ran. She got it a year ago, and had barely taken it off since.

Her dad placed it on the chair by her bed, “Maybe it can watch over you as you sleep.”

“That sounds creepy dad.”

Her dad chuckled, “Well goodnight munchkin.” He gave her a kiss on the top of her head. “Don’t stay up too late.”

Mu didn’t say anything else. She just sat on her bed eating her remaining corn chips while staring at the doll.

“They don’t care about me,” she whispered to the doll. “They’ve never cared how I feel. They moved without even talking to me about it until last minute.”

The doll didn’t respond (of course), it just stared back at her with its black button eyes.

“They constantly work too. Mom and dad would sometimes barely talk to me all day because of it. Sometimes they don’t even know me at all.” Mu didn’t even care that she was talking to herself. It felt good to vent, get everything out of her system. She continued rambling about how things have been lonely all her life, and now that she doesn’t even have her friends it’s gonna just stay that way. Lonely. Boring. Depressing.

Mu tossed the empty bag over the bed, and got up to turn off her lights. She then blindly walked to her bed and crawled under the blankets. She didn’t feel as comfortable as she did at her old home. Coco was right about it being humid, she could still feel the sticky hot air in her room. To Mu, it seemed like everything in the new house was gonna be rotten. She turned to the doll before she drifted to sleep.

“Goodnight, little me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter! Thought I’d update before the week starts since school is gonna get busy for me. But I’m excited for the next chapter, so stay tuned until then.


	3. The other mother

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the middle of the night, Mu encounters something weird in the nursery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo guess who made a little tumblr blog? So if you wanna see any art or just say hi it’s https://needs-a-little-space.tumblr.com/post/630195579904032768/feel-free-to-check-out-the-fic-if-you-wanna-learn

It was late at night. Too late to wake up.

Mu could feel her eyes open up, still feeling sleepy. _Why am I up now? What time is it?_

She tossed herself over the bed, and got up. She rubbed her eyes and looked at the clock plugged into the wall across the room. With the night light shining in that same area, she could see the two hands rested around the twelve. _Midnight._

 _Mom and dad must be asleep. Maybe I can grab some water, that’ll help me go back to sleep._ Mu dragged her feet out of her room yawning, making her way to the stairs.

She could hear something in the hallway however. The pitter patters of little feet. Small squeaks filled the silent night. Tiny little claws scratching at the wooden floors.

Forgetting the water, Mu looked around to investigate the noise. She believed it was just her mind playing tricks on her, maybe she was dreaming right now.

In the hallway however, seemed to be something straight out of a fantasy. Three little mice, with small button eyes were jumping around the hallway. When they noticed they were being watched, they began hopping off to a room still opened.

Mu couldn’t help but chase after them. She didn’t care if this was real or not, the mice seemed too interesting to pass up. She dashed down the hallway, hoping the mice weren’t gone for good. Making a sharp turn and falling inside the room, Mu hit the ground with a loud thump. Shoot, _I hope that didn’t wake anyone up._ She looked up and noticed the room she was in.

_The nursery...?_

Mu got up and looked around the nursery for the mice. The little door from earlier was cracked opened just a bit. The mice must have scampered through the door.

_Where would they even be going?_ Mu immediately opened the door, wondering if maybe they were coming from a crack in the bricks. But no, the bricks were gone. A long and colorful tunnel was there instead with a door at the end. The mice crossed to the other side, and vanished. A light was coming from the cracks of the other door, and a warmth could be felt in the tunnels. She put her hand on the floor of the tunnel. It felt soft, like fuzzy flannel. Mu began to crawl through the new path and made her way to the other side. She felt excitement as she entered through the other door. Perhaps there was a part of the house she never knew existed. Or maybe a way out of this dreadful place. She cracked open the door to reveal...

_Everything looks like the nursery...? What the heck?_

Mu got up and closed the door. It looked the same as before in the nursery. But something felt different. The walls didn’t look as dull and sad as before. They looked more colorful and happy. She left the room, looking around the hallways. Just like the nursery, it seemed more alive. Three photos were by the hallway, silhouettes of kids: A girl with a hat, a girl with a bow, and a boy. And down the stairs, she could smell something good. Something tasty. As she walked down the stairs, the sound of humming was heard from the kitchen.

Mu stuck her head out and looked through the doorway. Her mom stood there cooking and humming. _But mom doesn’t cook._ _Dad usually does the cooking. What is going on?_

“Mom, what are you doing up so late at night-“

“You’re just in time for supper dear.”

Mu almost jumped when her mom turned around. Her mom was smiling. Her mom barely smiles. Her blond hair looked a bit different, a bit longer. She wore a green dress, one that went down to her knees. But the most particular thing was her eyes. Her eyes... weren’t even eyes. They were two black buttons.

She could feel herself wanting to make a run for it. This must just be a nightmare.

“You’re not my mother,” Mu stuttered. “My mother doesn’t have... Bu... But-“

Her mom only laughed softly, “Buttons?” She raised her fingers and tapped the sides of them. “Do you like them? I’m your other mother silly.”

The ‘other mother’ turned back to her cooking, a smile still on her face. “Now go get your other father, and tell him suppers ready.”

She didn’t wanna walk away. Everything still felt off. But if Mu continued standing there, wouldn’t that just make things awkward? _I guess I should go get him. Stay calm Mu. It’s just a weird dream. It has to be._

The little girl left the room, her back not turning towards the stranger. Everything felt weird, and didn’t make sense. The house gave off a positive and cheerful presence. The complete opposite of that morning. Her mom wasn’t snapping at her for being restless and hyper. In fact her moody mom was just... ecstatic. And cooking dinner! Her mom never cooks, it was her dad that usually did the cooking (even if it was often burnt or just unappetizing in general). It was all just too bizarre for Mu. Everything felt too good to be true. And their eyes. The button eyes. How could someone even see with those? It was the only thing that make Mu’s skin crawl. Even just thinking about it gave her a sick feeling in her stomach. It just felt so off putting.

In her father’s office the computer was gone along with the boxes that usually littered the floor. Instead instruments seemed to be in their place. Her father sat by an orange piano, playing a cheerful tune.

Mu couldn’t help but feel shocked as she spoke, “Dad?! I didn’t know you can play piano!”

Her dad turned around, black button eyes on his face as well as a big grin. “Well hello there munchkin!” The piano continued playing as he turned around, and Mu noticed something moving by the instruments. _They were playing by themselves? How is that even possible?_

“Uh, sorry to interrupt.” Mu walked in slowly and kept her distance. “Dinner’s ready.”

“Mmm, I’m starving!” He tapped the top of the piano, “Take five guys!” The instruments quieted down as her father got up and led Mu back to the dining room.

“Your instruments play on their own?” Mu asked while holding her other father’s hand.

“Well of course! Why wouldn’t they?” Her father didn’t stop grinning as they walked. “I’ll have to play you a tune sometime. We’ve been working hard to write something just for you.”

Finally, they arrived at the dining room. The chair at the end of the table pulled out on its own, and Mu took a seat.

She should be scared, or concerned. Her family seemed different as they ate dinner. More happy, and less arguing. Dinner was a feast, with all of Mu’s favorite foods. It all tasted so good. In the end Mu couldn’t help but enjoy everything around her. Her other dad cracking jokes at the table, and her mother making sure everything was to her perfection. Mu felt her fears melt away, and soon she felt at peace.

Eventually a cake was placed in front of her, the candles around the edge bursting flames automatically.

_Welcome home Mu~_

_Do they expect me to stay? I thought my home was back at the apartment, not here._ “Home?” The cautiousness returned to Mu at that moment.

Her mother got up and stood by her father’s chair. Her hands rested on his shoulders. “We’ve been waiting for you Mu.”

“For me?”

Her father nodded, “This world isn’t the same without you munchkin.”

Mu stared at the cake. It really all seemed too good to be true. This has to be a dream. “I didn’t even know I had another mother though.”

“Of course you do,” her mother laughed. “Everyone does.”

She raised her eyebrows, her mustache also bouncing up a little. She didn’t say anything back. _If everyone had one, how come she never even heard about it? Is that something with this house? Did Coco know anything?_

Her other mother tapped her fingers along the table, “And since you’re done eating, I thought we should play a game!”

At the sound of the other mother’s excitement in her voice, Mu couldn’t help but rise out of her chair wanting to leave. “Do you mean like, hide and seek?”

“Perfect! Let’s go play outside in the garden!”

“I thought you and dad hate dirt and mud?”

Her father raised his arms grinning, “But we love mud here! Mud facials, mud baths, mud pies. It’s great for poison oak too.”

Scared at the mention of poison oak, Mu held her hand. The red rash from that afternoon was still there. _How did they even know about it? It’s not even that obvious at first glance._

“I’d love to play... but I think I should be getting back to my other mother.”

“But I’m your other mother,” Mu could sense a dreariness in her tone.

Mu noticed her dad left his chair and was standing behind her, she felt trapped. “Maybe I should go to bed.”

The other mother walked over and took her hand, “Of course sweetie.” Mu was led upstairs by the other mother. She couldn’t help but notice that the mother’s hand felt rather cold. Like ice. While the rest of the house did feel rather pleasant, the other mother felt chilled to the bone.

_She does seem rather nice. And they did feed me. And they care about me a lot. Is this world really so bad?_

Her room was decorated beautifully. There wasn’t a mattress on the floor, but a beautiful bed full of pillows and a canopy. The white walls were painted pink and purple with twinkling stars on the ceiling. She could see butterflies fly around her room, calling her name. On her shelves were toys and dolls that she packed from her old home. They began to greet her, welcoming her home. She waved at them back, feeling a little shy. She crawled into bed, sinking into the pillows around her. It felt so comfy. She never wanted to leave the pile ever again.

With her hand sticking out from the pillows, she felt something cool on her hand. Mu looked over to see her mom putting mud on her poison oak gently. Everything felt so comfortable and safe, Mu felt herself drift off to sleep.

“See you soon.”

•••

Rising from bed, Mu stretched gracefully before opening her eyes. Afterwards she expected to still be in the other world, ready to see the other mother. But fate was against Mu. She was back in her room, the white walls remained, and the boxes were back. She couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

_Just a dream I guess._

There was one odd thing Mu noticed when getting dressed and ready for the day. While pulling over her shirt, her hand didn’t feel as itchy. She analyzed her hand after getting dressed. It wasn’t red or bothering her. The poison oak was gone.

“It’s gone? My poison oak! It’s gone!”

Mu left her room and went to the nursery. She opened the door, hoping to see the tunnel and thank the other mother. But only the bricks remained.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m on a roll, mainly cause if I end up on a hiatus due to school I rather get the main story started first. Anyways we got to meet Vanessa! I imagine that Mu’s mom looks a bit like Vanessa to begin with so Vanessa didn’t have to change her appearance to fit in.


	4. The rest of the household

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the most bizarre dream, Mu gets to meet the rest of her neighbors. However something seems suspicious as they ask her certain questions revolving around the events from last night...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4 already? So heads up: We get to meet Grooves and the Conductor! And yes, they are living together. Interpret it as you will.
> 
> (And they were roommates!)  
> (oH mY gOd ThEy WeRe RoOmAtEs—)

“It all felt so real mom! Only you weren’t really you, you were my other mother.”

Her mom didn’t look up, only continued typing on her laptop. “Mu at least eat your oatmeal. I’m trying to work.”

Mu looked at her dad entering the kitchen, “And you were in the dream too dad! You had a music room with instruments that played all by themselves.”

“Oh please Mu, your father is toned death,” her mom replied. “I thought his singing in the car ride here proved that.”

Her dad didn’t defend himself, only grabbed his bowl of oatmeal and left. _Probably to continue work in his office._

“He didn’t even say good morning.” Mu sank in her chair as she played with the spoon beside her bowl. The girl tried balancing it on her nose, then on her fingertips. The loud clanging of the spoon falling each try must have gotten to her mom. It wasn’t long until the spoon was confiscated.

“Mu, how about you go downstairs?” Her mother placed it in the sink. “I bet those directors would love to hear your dream.” The sarcasm in her voice felt strong.

Mu grumbled as she got up, “But I barely know them. What if they kidnap me and...” She stuck out her tongue. “And steal my tongue! And you’ll never hear me ever again!”

Her mother sighed, “Stop being so dramatic Mu.”

There was no point in arguing with mom. She was gonna get chased out of the house eventually. Her parents were always working, and with no siblings around she didn’t have anyone else. It didn’t help that the other neighbors seemed to be adults with their own lives. Nothing to do and no one to spend time with.

_At least in the other world I didn’t feel so alone._

Grabbing her jacket, Mu swung open the door and nearly tripped as she took the first few steps. A bunch of packages littered the front door. _I didn’t know we were expecting mail._ She picked up one of the packages, reading the address.

**Markus Morozov**

**Subcon Apt #101**

_Didn’t Coco mention one of her neighbors was named Mark? They must have gotten the mail mixed up._

She picked up all the packages with both hands and made her way up the stairs. It was a long trek and it didn’t help that the packages felt like bricks in her arms. Mu made sure not to look down as she finally arrived at the top. The platform felt rickety already, and looking down was just gonna make things feel worse. Mu questioned herself, _How could anyone live up here?It’s so high up, I could probably break my neck from this height._ Two doors were there. One had a nicely placed welcome mat, and some little cat shaped pots filled with plants. The other had no decor outside. Just a keep out sign (which looked stolen) hanging poorly on the door.

Using her foot to knock on the door, Mu called out. “Hello? I think our mail got mixed up!” No response.

_Maybe he’s not home. I’ll just leave it outside._

Mu dropped the packages by the door and turned to leave. Only to encounter a stocky man with a furious mustache (putting Mu’s to shame) standing behind, her arms crossed. “Ack!” Mu let out a shriek as she almost fell over. The man scared Mu yet again, _What is it with my new neighbors scaring the crap out of me?!_

The man lifted Mu by the hood of her jacket, looking at her, and then the packages. “You must be very lost little girl. Vat are you doing on my porch?”

_Little girl?!_ “I have your mail. Now put me down!”

The man only laughed as he dropped her, Mu landing with a thud. “Little girl is wimpy and small. You must be the new neighbor.”

Out of his reach, Mu was able to get a better look at him. He was taller than Coco that’s for sure. He had a red coat and wore a chef’s hat. His accent was strong, and he lifted up the packages with only one hand. For looking like a lunatic, he was very strong. “The mice have been hungry. Finally mice would eat and work harder.”

_The mice,_ Mu thought to herself. _Oh god he’s a crackhead isn’t he?_

“I’m Mu.”

“Markus. Cooking lady refers to me as Mark. You may call me that too.” He didn’t hold out his hand or anything. He swung open the door and threw the packages inside. Mu was able to get a peek of his house during that. It looked bare, and lifeless. She noticed newspapers on the ground along with a table covered in money. But that was all she saw before Mark got in the way.

“You seem very lost little girl,” Mark said in a low voice. “Feeling abandoned in house.” His head turned to face her, “The last kid has felt like that too. Rambling about how lonely she is. Rambling about little door in the wall. And what a wonderful world it was.”

Mu felt her heart skip a beat. _How did he know about the door? How could he even know about what’s on the other side?_ “The one behind the wallpaper? But it’s all... bricked up.”

His voice rose as he continued speaking, “Little girl is naive. You remind me of other kid. Both of you were naive and weak. Not understanding the consequences.”

“I am not weak! Or naive!” Mu stomped her foot in anger. She noticed her fists were balling up too. “I could probably beat you up if I wanted to!”

The man only let out another wicked laugh, then went inside locking the door behind him. Mu didn’t know how to feel about his “warning”. He just sounded like the words of a mad man. Talking to mice seemed like the first indication to be wary of the man in general. His other words just seemed like a puzzle to Mu, one with no clear answer.

But there wasn’t time to ponder what he said. She could worry about that later. After all, Mu had a mission. To go to the basement. And she wasn’t gonna let a weirdo on the roof distract her from that.

•••

Sliding along the railing, Mu reached the door to the basement. Another mat laid by the door, looking quite worn. A torn up shoe was laying by the door. _They probably have a dog,_ she thought to herself. The front door wasn’t just one of those doors with glass screening covering half of it. It also had one of those fancy handlebars for knocking. It was shaped like a bird skull, and looked kind of rusty. Mu gave three knocks, and waited. No response came, so she peaked through the smudged glass on the door.

Suddenly, a little toddler jumped up. They appeared to be yelling as two more kids came jumping by the door. Swinging the door open, they pounced onto Mu. The kids looked about five or six years old. They all had the same shaggy golden hair, covering half of their faces. One had a little sun hat, she seemed to be the only girl. The other two boys were dressed pretty similar and were hard to tell apart. They held onto her jacket, like snails sticking on a wall. Prying them away seemed pointless. They had an iron grip onto her and didn’t give up easily.

Not long after, Mu heard an older voice from inside the apartment, “Darlings! What have I told you about jumping onto visitors?” The three started making a chirping like noise and ran towards the mystery voice.

The voice came from a man, much older looking than Coco or Mark. He had black frizzy hair, and chocolate colored skin with pale like specks on his face. It reminded Mu of Coco, even if it wasn’t patch like. Grey streaks were slightly noticeable too, showing off his age. The man also wore vibrant and colorful clothes, platform shoes, and star shaped sunglasses. He looked like he was straight out of the 70s or 80s. The kids stood by his side, one of the boys was attempting to climb up on top him.

“Well nice to meet you darling! Mu, wasn’t it? Lovely to have you come by.” He turned his attention towards the boy holding onto his shoulder. “Sorry about the kids. Connie watches them often.”

Mu stepped inside, not minding the kids. “It’s not a problem. How did you know my name anyways?”

“I was talking to your father the day he was seeing the house.” _Oh yeah. I forgot dad drove out here on his own to go over stuff with the landlord. That was before it was official and the thought of moving seemed like a distant dream._ “My name is James, but please call my Grooves. Too professional for my taste.” He called out down the hallway, “Connie darling! Put the kettle on, we got a guest!”

Grooves led Mu to the living room. She couldn’t help but take in her surroundings. Movie posters were hung on the walls of the basement. Some were western themed, and some were space themed. Golden awards were covering the shelves, along with a few silver ones. More posters of movies, movie props, and old photos cluttered Mu’s vision. There was one movie poster that stood out from the crowd. It looked like the poster for a thriller movie, with signatures covering it. She could read some of them from a distance.

_“Definitely worth the collab!”_

_“Happy to see the rivalry end with one final bang. Quite literally!”_

_“It was fun while it lasted. Enjoy retirement!”_

The three kids ran past Grooves and jumped on the couch in the center of the room. Five more kids sat in the living room surrounding a board game. They began chattering with excitement as two of them waddled over to investigate Mu. _Eight kids?! Geez I didn’t even know it was possible. They all looked around the same age too._

From the kitchen Mu noticed another old guy step out. Unlike Grooves, this man looked almost like the kids entirely. Messy yellow hair that almost covered his eyes, with a figure as small as Mu. He looked more worn down than Grooves, with wrinkles on his hands and face. She could even see some scars by his arms and neck. His hair definitely had some gray details, the same as Grooves.

“Who’s dat? Some peck neck breakin’ in?” His thick Scottish accent made his speech almost hard to translate at first. He was holding a whiskey bottle as well, taking a swig.

“Darling, this is Mu. Our new neighbor upstairs. Mu, this is Amos. But he prefers being called the Conductor.”

Grooves eyes narrowed at the Conductor’s whiskey bottle, “If you even THINK about putting that in the tea Amos—“

“Oh shut it DJ peck neck,” the Conductor barked. “Rather keep it all to myself.”

As the two bickered, Mu joined the kids by the couch. One of the kids she was sitting next to stared chewing on something. Mu couldn’t get a good look at the item, but she could assume that maybe the kids had something to do with the destroyed shoe outside.

“HEY!” The shouting of the Conductor startled the kids. “COLTON, STOP CHEWIN’ ON THE REMOTE! YER NOT A DOG!”

Colton didn’t stop, he only sneered at his grandpa. “Peck,” he squeaked while chewing on the remote.

“Wha— COLTON DON’T SAY THAT WORD YER MUM WOULD HAVE ME HEAD!”

Mu couldn’t help but chuckle at the chaos folding in front of her.

“I told you darling,” Grooves entered the living room with a tray of tea. “I told you that if you kept swearing it was gonna catch up to you.”

Colton lost interest in the remote and crawled onto the Conductor smiling. Mu could get a feeling that the kid probably looked up to his grandfather a lot. In fact, all the kids seemed to adore the two of them. She couldn’t help but wonder how long the kids spend their time here. Perhaps she wouldn’t be as lonely as she thought.

“So what is it yer parents do anyways?” The Conductor sat across from Mu, spiking whiskey into his cup of tea.

“They work as catalog writers for a gardening business. They work from home, but we moved due to them getting a promotion.”

Mu was never a fan of her parent’s work. It seemed strange that while her parents advertised gardening tools, they despised gardening and being outside. She asked her mom about it once only to get the answer, “Work is work.”

“There is something I must ask you Mu,” Grooves said in a concerned tone. “This may seem like an odd question, but has anything weird happened to you since you’ve moved in?”

Just like Mark, Mu couldn’t shake off the bizarre feeling she had from their words. While Mark did seem cold while mentioning the door, concern was hinted as well. And even with that question she noticed the Conductor perk up, looking a bit nervous. The kids seemed oblivious to their guardian’s fear though. Mu wanted to tell them at that moment. Tell them the jumping mice in the nursery, the little door with another world, and the other mother with button eyes.

...But Mu didn’t tell them.

“Nope. Nothing at all. Just a big boring house.” _Please buy it please buy it—_

Grooves was silent, and then he spoke. “Well, okay Mu. We believe you.”

After the awkward exchange, Mu changed the subject. The question was brushed off, and soon Mu went back home.

As Mu left, the Conductor got up to make sure she was gone for real. After checking, he turned to Grooves, “What was that question about then?!”

Grooves raised his voice at the Conductor, “I don’t want it to happen again Amos!”

“That was ten years ago James. I don’t think history will repeat.” The conductor walked over and held Grooves trying to comfort him.

“I just don’t want it to happen again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter down! I can’t wait till we get to later on in the story. I got big plans coming, and I’m excited to reveal them soon.


	5. Dinner and a show

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mu enters the other world once again, but this time she's starting to warm up to her other parents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who's making their way back with the next chapter? Also I'm writing this from my computer instead of my phone so it's easier to make it look nice.

Later that night, Mu stole a block of cheese from the fridge. She was shocked to find one as it is, _It seems like mom finally grabbed groceries._ It was perfect, just what she needed. She broke off a few pieces, and made her way upstairs. Then, Mu made sure to leave her door open just a little bit after placing the cheese. If her theory worked, the cheese will be gone when the mice show up. And thus, proving if it could be real. Sure, her mom might come in and find it, maybe even a normal rat. That's why she was gonna stay awake till it happened. So Mu hopped in bed, pulled the blankets over her, and grabbed the doll to keep her company... only it wasn't on the chair. It was gone, even though she never moved it.

Mu glanced around, the doll was now resting on a few boxes by the window. _Did dad move it? Why would he... Doesn't matter. Maybe I moved it and just forgot._ Her head hit the pillow, and Mu kept her eyes on the door. _And now we wait._

•••

Mu felt her eyes flutter open at the sounds of squeaking. _Dang, I must have dozed off._ Getting up, she looked towards the door. She woke up just in time! Three jumping mice were holding the bits of cheese in their paws. They began jumping and fleeing the scene, carrying the cheese with them. Mu leaped out of bed and made a run back to the nursery. Sure enough, the door was unlocked and open. The colorful tunnel was there, and the mice made it to the other side. 

She crawled into the tunnel, the fuzzy interior making her feel comfortable as she wriggled through. She closed the door behind her, reaching her destination. Everything still felt happy and positive. The walls were still vibrant, the floors were less creaky, and humming could be heard from the kitchen. Mu ran down the stairs. Just like before, her other mother was cooking dinner. Her other dad was also there too. He sat at the small table in the kitchen reading a newspaper.

The other mother looked excited to see Mu enter the kitchen. She gave her a warm greeting, “Welcome back dear.”

Mu gave a shy smile and waved.

“It was very nice of you to bring us this cheddar, Mu.” She noticed the mom was grating cheese over a pan on the stove. _Cheddar? Oh. The mice bait!_

Dinner looked like scrambled eggs, with toast and other breakfast foods. The things were still being made, as the eggs weren’t done and waffles were cooling on the counter top. She walked away from the stove to give Mu a hug, her body still feeling as cold as ice. Mu didn’t ask why she felt so cold. Compared to the comforting presence of the other world, the other mother stood out with her icy like touch. Her button eyes didn’t show much expression, but with a smile Mu didn’t feel as disturbed as the first night. She never thought she’d get use to the eyes. But something about them started to grow more normal and familiar to Mu.

“Dinner will take a while to finish,” her other mother apologized. “I’m sorry to keep you waiting, you must be starving.”

Mu shrugged, “It’s okay. I’m not starving anyways.” She looked outside the kitchen window, noticing something moving in the darkness. “What’s that outside?”

Her mother clapped her hands together and squealed, “Oh yes! I can’t believe we forgot to show you the garden!” She took Mu’s hand and led her to the back door. “How about you go check it out while I finish dinner?”

Mu opened the door and made her way to the garden. Colorful flowers were sprouting by the stone path. While walking, she saw something flying through the air. Little humming birds and bees flew by, buzzing with glee. By the entrance was a pond, with golden koi and blue frogs relaxing in the water. The poison oak shrubs were replaced, with rich green bushes trimmed to look like animals. There was some cats, birds, a fish, and even a few seals. With every step, more plants began to bloom as if following her journey.

It was so gorgeous compared to the dead like garden at the house. Mu could only dream of having a something like this in real life. She touched some of the vines growing alongside the stone walls, tracing her fingers on the smooth texture. Mu found herself in the center of the garden, where tall trees loomed over with lights hanging from the low branches. A fountain was at the center, jewels and vines circled the stone. She sat by the fountain, putting her hand in the water. It felt so cool and nice. Mu couldn't help but laugh when a frog from the fountain swam by and nibbled on her fingers playfully.

“Welcome to the garden Mu!”

A voice came from the trees, as a cat was sitting on one of the branches shaped like a swing. She had ginger fur, with patches. Her voice sounded so familiar too...

Mu gasped in shock, “Coco?!” Sure enough, her neighbor from upstairs was indeed in this world. "Coco" was instead an anthropomorphic cat, wearing a chef's outfit. She wasn’t human anymore, but even with her new look Mu could recognize Coco. She just... felt exactly like Coco. Like a carbon copy, minus the cat features.

“What are you doing here?” Mu asked. Coco hopped down from the trees, being caught by a big flower sprouting from the ground.

Coco purred, “I like spending time in the garden. It’s so relaxing and gorgeous.”

Mu shook her head, “No like why are you here? Why aren’t you back in my world?”

She could feel a paw take her hand, and Coco walked her though the garden. “This is the other world sweetie. Although it goes by another name, Subcon.”

“Subcon? Oh, like the apartment building name! Your world is named after it.”

Coco nodded and continued talking. “We are not from your world, but we comfort those who have not the best lives. Here in Subcon, everything is tailored to make you and the other kids in the past happy. Because when you're happy, she’s happy.”

Mu paused, “She? The other mother?”

“Oh, I think dinner is ready for you,” Coco replied in a quick response. She dropped Mu's hand and started walking away. “I’ll see you soon dear. I believe after dinner you are going to attend a performance. I hope you enjoy yourself.”

Before Mu could ask what the rush was, Coco was already gone. So she made her way back to the house to eat dinner.

•••

Dinner was delicious. Mu had pancakes and waffles stacked on her plate, dripping with strawberry syrup. Her favorite syrup from back home. She wanted to ask her other parents about Coco, but Mu was too distracted by the meal to raise questions. She didn't know why, but the food made her feel more calm. Mu, the girl who would snap at someone bumping into her. The girl known for picking fights at her old school, and was constantly called to the office for roughhousing. And yet, she couldn't feel anger or anxiety here. As if something was keeping her at bay. She could only feel happy, compared to the real world.

_I don't wanna go back to the other world._

"Mu, Mister Morozov has invited you to see the jumping mice perform after dinner." Her dad mentioned as they ate.

She replied while shoving a fork in her mouth, "Oh! I heard Coco mention that in the garden."

Her mother rose and took her empty plate, "Why don't you go head upstairs? We'll clean up." Mu nodded and started making her way outside. The night air felt more chilly than before, making Mu wished she brought her jacket with her. It felt as cold as the other mother herself. But through the cold air, Mu noticed something from the trees in the distance. The shadows looked as if they were moving by themselves. And a flicker of yellow was glowing from the darkness. Mu knew it was nothing more than a trick of the light, so she ignored the feeling and made her way upstairs.

On the balcony, there was no longer two doors, only one. Flashing neon lights were hung above, and Mu could here voices from inside. She knocked twice on the door. Not long after, a large man in a blue suit opened the door.

"Mafia Boss has been expecting small mustache child. Come in." He led Mu inside. The place didn't even look like an apartment complex anymore. There was a casino lobby and bar, and a few more men in blue suits. Mu followed the man as he opened another door leading to a large circus like ring. A voice was heard over the speakers, as the man left the room.

"FELLOW MAFIA AND CHILD," the speakers blasted with a familiar voice. "FOR TO TICKLE YOUR EYES AND EARS... AND MAKING HEARTS TO THUMP, I, MAFIA BOSS MARKUS MOROZAV AM INTRODUCING MY ASTONISHING... STUPENDULOUS AND AMAZING... JUMPING MOUSE CIRCUS!"

The lights began to dim, and a spotlight shined in the center. From the ceiling, a dozen mice fell from above, landing on headstands and other poses. With their bodies, they spelled out two words.

**Mu**

"My name!" Mu cried out in excitement. The mice leaped from their positions, and some were carrying little instruments like drums and trumpets. The ring master was a large mouse wearing a parade like hat, and bouncing on a ball. The ball was purple and gold with a little hat symbol on it. And through the performance, Mu felt a strange feeling from the ball, even though she wasn't near it. It felt warm, compared to the icy feel of the other world.

The jumping mice pounced around, forming shapes below. Their squeaks and little music notes were surprisingly loud and sounded beautiful. As they danced, everything felt amazing. Halfway through, a tower emerged from the center, and the mice rose up with it. The ringmaster bounced on the ball as he stood above them all. Mu gasped as the ringmaster then went down the tower. He rode the ball down, and the other mice on the tower dived off making a small squeak as they landed on two feet. When all mice left the tower, sand bags fell from the sky, and the mice perfectly dodged the obstacles. The ring master led them, leaving the mice to form like a snake. And from all the chaos, a figure jumped from the ceiling, doing a flip in the air before landing with the mice surrounding him. The man got up, and his face was noticeable. Markus, the crazy neighbor upstairs was dressed in nice attire, and had black button eyes just like everyone else. He took off his chef's hat and bowed.

Mu clapped and cheered, "Woo! That was amazing!"

"Thank you, thank you." Markus smiled. He snapped his fingers, and the mice ran up to his arms and disappeared under his red coat. He then keeled down, and let the ringmaster hop into his hat. Placing it back on his head, Markus held out his hand to shake Mu's. "You are very welcome anytime you like. Do svedaniya, Mu."

•••

After the show, Mu was brought to her room by her mom and dad. Her mom tucked her in as her dad gave her a kiss on her forehead. She fell asleep right away, having dreams of the lovely time she shared in Subcon. _Subcon... If only I can stay here forever._

She woke up in her old room, kicking the blankets off to check the door. The cheese was gone, only a few crumbles. A big grin appeared on her face. Mu then went to the nursery to open the door. But the door wouldn't open, no matter how hard she pulled. _Someone locked the door,_ she thought. _And I think I know who._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know why but this chapter was hard to write. Probably because it's been a while since I've posted a chapter and I need to get back in the flow.


	6. An awkward turnout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mu's parents invited the neighbors over as a way for everyone to get to know each other. Mu sees this as an opportunity to bring up Subcon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, I was looking forward to this chapter. After all, we are getting close to he climax of the story. And we get to meet a certain someone next chapter... Anyways, thank you guys for reading this story I'm happy to see if do well (Since it's my first ever fic). This has been a nice project to do when I need a break from school, along with working on my animal crossing island.

After checking on the nursery, Mu went downstairs to find her mom coming inside. "You're up late," she muttered as she closed the front door. "Usually you are the one up by six in the morning." Her mom walked past her, giving her a pat on the shoulder as she made her way to the kitchen. Mu followed her into the kitchen and looked at the clock. _10:00?_ _I missed the entire morning!_

Her mom was soon cleaning out the coffee pot while Mu sat at the table. "I would like it if you can get dressed," her mom commented. "While your dad's at work dropping off the catalog I thought we should go shopping to get your school uniform. Mu snorted, "School uniform?! UGH, THAT'S SO BORING." She groaned melodramatically as her head sank to the table. She heard her mom let out a small chuckle. "Is my suffering satisfying to you?" Mu got up and stared at her mother.

"It doesn't sound too bad dear. You're just exaggerating." She placed the scrubbed pot in the sink, "Now go get dressed. I can pick you up something to eat for breakfast on the way." That got Mu's attention. "Alright, caught my interest. I'll get dressed." Mu jogged up the stairs to her room to grab some clothes for the day. While grabbing her jacket off the floor, something was wrong. She noticed the doll was not on the boxes anymore, but was completely gone. Distracted, she peered around the boxes. _It didn't fall over,_ she realized _It just left. But how-_

Mu's thoughts were put on hold as she heard her mom. "Come on Mu, I don't have all day!" 

"My doll vanished," Mu called back. "I can't find it! It just walked off!"

She heard her mom groan from downstairs, "Mu we don't have time for this. You can look when we get home." Mu rolled her eyes and went to the bathroom to get ready. After getting dressed and putting on her jacket, she jumped down the stairs, skipping a few steps. Her mom was by the stairs waiting. "Mu your hair is so messy," her mom complained as she pulled Mu over to her. Her mom used her fingers to try and comb out the tangles. "MOM MY HAIR IS FINE," Mu nagged. Her mom shushed her as she tied up her hair in a ponytail. Mu was flailing the whole time, trying to flee.

After that mess, they got into the car and left. Mu's mom grabbed her a croissant from a small coffee shop down the road by the entrance of town. She ate her croissant as she sat in the front seat looking out the window. "I had another dream last night mom," she recited with food in her mouth. "There was a beautiful garden with flowers and trees. And last night I saw a REAL mouse circus." Her mom didn't say anything about it. Mu felt bitter as her mom ignored her talking. _My other mom would have listened to me._

They got to a clothing store where they sold the school uniforms. Her mom proceeded to drag Mu around, pulling out the most dullest outfits from the racks. Mu gagged when her mom gave her a gray plaid skirt. "Do I really need to wear SKIRTS?" Her mom nodded and looked through more uniforms. Mu held a gray blue sweater, the plaid skirt, a white button up, and other clothes for her mom while they browsed.

"I forgot to tell you, but tonight we are having the neighbors over for dinner." Her mom didn't look at Mu, only glancing at the uniforms while she talked. "Coco said she would prepare the food for tonight. I insisted that your father should help but she told me she would enjoy making all the food. That lady sure likes to cook." Mu didn't pay much attention as her mother talked on and on. Soon they checked out and got in the car to head home.

Mu pouted in the front of the car, "What do you think is on the other side of the door?"

"I don't know, but it's not our business."

"Then why did you lock the door?"

Her mother responded quickly, "Oh, I found some rat crap. And I thought you'd feel... Safer."

Mu scoffed, "They are jumping mice mom. And the dreams aren't dangerous." She crossed her arms over her jacket. "They're the most fun I've had since we've moved here!" Her mom didn't say much, having a neutral look on her face. "Your school might be fun," she pointed out as they pulled into the driveway. "With those stupid uniforms," Mu mumbled to herself. "Yeah right." Her mom parked the car and opened the door. "Have to give it a try Mu." She grabbed the clothes from the back seat and handed them to Mu. "Coco will be here by four. I'm going to go pick up your father, so go take the clothes inside to your room."

She watched her mom drive off before heading inside. After throwing the bags on the bed, she looked at the alarm clock in her room. _12:45, I have time then._ Mu spent her moments alone going through the entire house looking for the key. Her mom must have known that Mu would try looking for it, because it was hidden. It took almost an hour for Mu to find it. It was above her parent's bedroom door, hanging far above. With the help of some telephone books and a chair, she was able to grab it. However she heard her parents pulling into the driveway. There was no time to go and unlock the door and check, so she shoved the key in her pockets hoping her parents won't notice it missing. _I'll check the door later,_ she promised herself.

•••

It was four when Coco arrived. Mu answered the door while her dad set up the table. Coco greeted Mu, "Well howdy-do Mu!" Coco was holding a red pot with a container of garlic bread on top. "I hope y'all like pasta. It's homemade."

"Sounds nice," Mu said politely. "Do you want me to help you bring that to the table?"

"That's very nice of you dear. But this isn't too heavy so I'll be fine. Can you show me where the dining room is though? This is my first time here."

Mu led Coco to the dining room, and left for the parlor while Coco talked to her father. The place didn't seem as dusty now, even though they have only lived here for three days. Her mom seemed to have placed some snow globes on the mantle above the fireplace. Mu grabbed one of the globes and shook it before putting it back. It was her favorite snow globe from back home. Mu got it a few years ago on a school field trip. It brought back happy memories of her old school. One time in second grade, her class went on a field trip to a zoo out of town. Her father decided to be one of the chaperones and watch over Mu's group. Because of that, Mu was able to be around the people she loved as they looked at the exhibits. But what made the trip better was the reptile exhibit. Mu loved the snakes as they slithered up to the glass, sticking out their tongue at her. It was that day she begged her dad for a pet snake. But a snake didn't seem like the best pet for an eight year old kid at the time. So he ended up buying her a stuff snake a few days later. She didn't even care it wasn't real, she just loved how long and soft it was. Like she could wrap it around her neck like a scarf. She still had that snake after all these years. It was probably in one of the moving boxes still in her room.

She continued looking at the new decor in the living room until she heard her mom calling for her to join everyone in the dining room. Mu must have been in the living room for a while, because everyone arrived and was seated. She noticed an empty chair between her dad and Grooves, and took it for herself. It seemed that everyone made it, even the Conductor's grand kids sat near her. She heard them chirp excitedly when they saw her.

"Isn't it nice to have kids you can grow up with live right by your door?" Her father nudged her trying to make her seem happy. "I'm sure James and Amos would like to have you come by, it must be a lot of work watching eight kids."

"Ye get used to it after a while," the Conductor noted. Grooves jumped into the conversation as well, "But either way feel free to stop by and say hi darling. I think the little darlings like seeing a new face around here."

The neighbors ate dinner as they chatted casually to get to know each other more. Coco seemed the most excited, mentioning before that she never really got to know her neighbors well despite living near them for two years. Mu got to learn a bit about them that night. For example, Coco worked at a restaurant about a half an hour outside of the area. She moved here two years ago to take on the position of chef. "I haven't regretted moving here because of it," she added. "It was hard to leave my family and friends behind, but they were supportive of my choice. Plus I still talk to them on the phone a lot to catch up on what's going on in their lives."

The posters and awards Mu saw yesterday made more sense once Grooves stated they used to be directors. Apparently they used to be fierce rivals, but over the years when they got older their rivalry changed. They made the choice to collaborate for their final movie, and made a spectacular horror film that won the annual movie award that year. After that the two retired and moved to Subcon Apartments to live a calm life after the hectic movie industry. Then the Conductor rambled about the grand kids. "It used to be just us, but me daughter hasn't been doin' well these past few years." He took a swig from the flask he brought with him. "So I help her our by watchin' the little lassies. Until she's better."

Finally Mark didn't say much about him. "Moved for new beginning," he grumbled. "Nothin' fancy." He was rather quiet as he just listened and ate.

Coco then asked Mu a bit about herself, "How do you feel about this new house? I know moving can be hard for someone your age."

Mu looked up from her pasta and thought a bit before answering. _She has a point, moving has been hard. And not everything has been perfect. But I guess one thing has seemed better._ "It hasn't been as bad. I think it's because of this place called Subcon."

Mark's fork fell out of his hand and hit the plate making a clatter. Grooves and Conductor's heads perked up in sync. Coco tilted her head, "Subcon?"

"Yeah! Finally someone wants to listen about it! It's this place on the other side of a little door in the nursery upstairs. At night these little jumping mice come and lead me through the tunnel. And Subcon is so beautiful Coco! And you were there too, as a cat. In fact I've seen the other mother, the other father, the other you, even the other Markus. And all of you had button eyes-"

Her mother interrupted, "Mu please. You need to stop with all of this imaginary talk, you're not a little kid anymore." That sentence, made Mu feel pissed off. For the past three days Mu just wanted someone to spend time with her, listen to the stories, maybe even be there for her instead of working or telling her off. And of course when she finds a place that doesn't treat her like trash, her mom says it's just her making it up. "I'm not lying," Mu snapped back. "I can prove it! I had poison oak on one of my hands. But the other mother put mud on it and now it's all better!"

"Mu stop it! You are only making it up for attention. Why can't you just act mature for once?!"

"I am mature! Mature enough to deal with living here! I didn't even want to move, you did it all without telling me till the last minute!"

Through the arguing, Coco sat in confusion. "Subcon huh," she muttered to herself. "What a strange imagination she has." Coco noticed that the other guests looked in shock at the mention of Subcon. She leaned over to talk to Mark. "Is something wrong? When Mu started talking, you and the others looked as if you've seen a ghost." Mark didn't look at her, he just stared at his plate. "I am fine," he told her. When Coco seemed to have moved on that point and tried to calm down the parents, Mark noticed the Conductor motioning him to the other room. While the four were arguing, they left the table and met up to talk.

"You never even seem to care about me!" Mu cried out. "At least the other mother cared!" She then stomped up the stairs, leaving the room and not caring about what was gonna happen next. She pulled the key out of her pocket and went to the nursery. Unlocking the door, she paused. _What if it isn't real? I've never gone in during the evening. How can I even go downstairs after that? ...But Subcon is better for me._ Mu took a deep breath and opened the door. The bricks were gone, and the colorful tunnel was there with no jumping mice this time. Mu felt pride in her chest, "I knew you were real." She crawled in and closed the door behind her.

•••

Mu's mom stood in silence after Mu stormed off. Her husband stood by her in shock as well. Coco tried talking sense, "I wouldn't try to worry. Just give her some alone time. Moving must have been hard for her, but I think she has something else on her shoulders weighing her down." Coco started cleaning up the plates, "Let's clean up, you can talk to her later."

Finally, the dad spoke. "Yes, lets clean up. We can talk about it later tonight." His wife didn't move. "What if she doesn't forgive me? Maybe I should have been a better parent. She felt her husband embrace her. "Dear, these past few years have been hard. With the moving and work. And now that the catalog is finished and we just have to wait, we can focus on Mu's feelings. She's starting middle school, of course she's gonna be experiencing lots of emotions." He took her hand, "Let's just clean up and give her space."

As they cleaned up, they didn't realize what happened to the other neighbors. When the Conductor motioned them to make their way to the back door, they gathered outside with the grandchildren circling Grooves. The sun was starting to set, and after settling down the kids, they talked. "This can't be a coincidence," Grooves stated first. "You know what happened ten years ago. She said the same thing and what did we do? We let it happen!"

"But how can we tell little girl's parents?" Mark sat on the steps of the back porch. "They wouldn't believe us." One of the grand kids leaned on his shoulder as they dozed off. The conductor buried his head in his hands, "We need to be careful how we handle this. After all it's not entirely sure if this 'door' has anything to do with what happened to Harriet."

"Do you not care about her Amos?"

"I do care," he stuttered. "It's just... I wish this isn't happenin' like... This can't be real Grooves. What if the grand kids are in danger next after the lass? How could I know that while watchin' me daughter's children?!"

Mark mumbled to himself, "Not to mention Coco."

"What did you say darling?"

He spoke up, trying not to take the kid sleeping next to him. "Coco asked why we were shocked at dinner when Subcon was mentioned."

The three were quiet, with only the sound of crickets in the air. Grooves broke the silence with an answer, "We are going to have to tell her the truth." Immediately Mark lashed back, "NO." He didn't care that the little one woke up. "We are NOT telling Coco."

"But we have to eventually," Conductor retorted as he leaned against the railing.

"Think for a second small man."

"I'm not small-"

"Do you really think that Coco would want to know that a child vanished in that house and is most likely dead?"

The bickering stopped. Mark had a point, news like that is hard to spill to someone you've been living nearby for two years. But the three knew deep down that something had to be done. They couldn't stay silent this time. This time, they have a chance to prevent history from repeating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :)


	7. Lights, camera, action

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mu returns after the fight with her parents, but this time she's able to enter Subcon before midnight. When we arrives, she gets to meet a new character, one that's not from her world...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOOO okay this chapter was hard to write. Like a lot goes down, and most of it strays off from the original coraline story at this point so writing might be a bit hectic (After all, first time writing a fanfic).

The other world still hasn't change when Mu arrived. And that alone made her feel at peace. After the fight with her parents, she just wanted to go to the one place she felt like she mattered in. And knowing that it was real and waiting for her, was just what she needed. After closing the door, she looked around the hallway while making her way downstairs. She never noticed before how the wallpaper was a rich blue, and how it made the photos framed on the wall pop out. The silhouette portraits were still the same as that first night. _The girl with a top hat, a girl with a bow, and a plain boy..._ It didn't make sense, everything else replicated things based around Mu, like her bedroom. Or it took things from the apartment and make it look more proper. _It can't be anyone at the apartments, and it's not other family members._

Mu could have focused on the portraits, but she knew that the other mother was around here somewhere. And if she was gonna be here longer than usual, then questions can be answered later. She hoped that maybe they're other kids that live here. Then she can play with someone her age. As the little mustache girl entered the kitchen, she didn't see any of her parents. The small table had s towering platter with small finger sandwiches and cookies. A box was placed beside, with a note on top. Mu opened the note to read it,

_Dearest Mu,_

_Mister Amos and James have invited you to their_

_movie studio down in the basement after lunch._

_I hope you like the new outfit I made for you._

_Love, mother.  
_

Inside the box, was a big light red sweater, with lilac colored pants. There was also a pair of boots beside the folded clothes. But the best part was the red cloak sitting on top. It was like her red baggy jacket at home, but this time like the cloak the doll wore. In fact, the outfit was exactly like what the doll wore. After getting dressed, she ate as many mini sandwiches as she could. Mu wasn't too hungry considering she just ate an early dinner. But the food tasted so good, and every bite made her feel more mellow. The anger from the argument she had only minutes ago was gone, and all she could feel was tranquility.

About ten minutes later of cookies and sandwiches, Mu left out the back door to enjoy the scenery before heading to the basement. She swung the cloak around her shoulders, pulling the hood over her head. The garden was still lavished as the night before. She felt memorized by the animal topiary artwork. The seals balancing on little spheres reminded her of a circus, and the cats were on two legs instead of four. But what felt slightly off was something resting on one of the trees nearby. She could see a shadowy tail wrapped around one of the lower branches, and above was a large shadow with bright yellow eyes.

"Huh. You don't remind me of any of the neighbors back in my world," Mu recalled as she made her way to the tree. She looked up at the shaded creature. "What 'other one' are you supposed to be?"

A wicked grin formed on his face. It was the same color as his eyes, giving him a pumpkin like face. He slithered his way down and two hands were now noticeable as he left the perch. **"No,"** he jeered at the girl. **"I'm not the other anything. I'm ME."**

Mu looked puzzled, "Yeah... 'Me' isn't a name." She crossed her arms, not wanting to look weak. "And besides, I don't recall any shadows back at home." The shadow laughed, drifting above Mu. **"Name's Snatcher kid,"** he answered while holding out a hand for Mu to shake. **"Any other information about me is none of your business. I've seen you here before, looking at me from a distance. You know it's rude to stare."**

Mu shook his weird ghost hand. "Yeah, my bad. I just thought you were a light from the distance. How did you get here?" Snatcher continued floating up, and started to move around the tree branches. **"I've been here for a while."** Mu noticed him disappearing in the blue leaves, even his face not hinting where he was hiding. _Rude,_ she thought as she turned around to leave.

**"It's a game we're playing,"** Snatcher snickered as he popped out from behind a penguin topiary. Ignoring how he almost gave Mu a heart attack, he continued talking. **"Consider it a love/hate relationship. She's been wanting me back for years, but I come and go as I please."** Mu followed him as he started flying over one of the stone bridges. "I'm confused," Mu stated. "Does the other mother not like ghosts or-"

That sentence made Snatcher howl with a laugh. He rested his body on the railing of the bridge as he tried to contain his laughter, **"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! That ice bitch is not like any mother I've ever known."** Mu felt herself get upset with the ghost's mockery. "You're wrong! She's very nice, and amazing!"

He leaned against the stone pillar by the end of the bridge, **"You probably think this world is a,"** he proceeded to do jazz hands as he grinned, **"DREAM COME TRUE..."** His hands lowered as he got up and snarled. **"But you're wrong. Take my advice kid, leave before it's too late. I've seen what happened to the others, right before their fates were sealed."**

Mu rolled her eyes, "Listen here specter. Why should I trust a scary ghost over a caring motherly figure that has wanted nothing but for me to be happy?" She started to walk away before calling back to him. "And just so you know, my mother is not a bitch." Mu didn't care if Snatcher tried calling for her to come back. She made her way to the basement, shoving Snatcher out of her mind.

•••

The stairway to the basement looked a lot more fancy. Not just because the crumbled stone stairs were now covered with a red carpet leading her down, but the door has lights surrounding the outline. Mu tried to keep Snatcher out of her mind while she descended. There was no way that he could be true. And besides, he seemed like nothing but trouble. _Maybe I should tell mom later about Snatcher. She'll know how to keep him away._

The door was open, and the basement no longer looked like a living space. Just like how the attic transformed into a casino and theater, the whole floor turned into a movie studio. Owls and penguins were walking around and making small talk. There was a familiar face though the mess. A cat was chatting with a tall crow. It was Coco. Mu went up and tapped on Coco's shoulder. "Coco? What are you doing here?"

Coco turned around and gave the girl a hug. "Oh hi sweetheart," she purred. "Your mother thought I should accompany you through the studio. It's a big place you know."

She had a point. Although they were by the entrance, the place seemed like a labyrinth. Coco took Mu's hand and led her through the chaos. The tour through the studio was impressive. Despite the loud noises being irritating, the realistic sets and lights were enough to catch Mu's interest. Everything looked cool to her. Soon they reached one of the sets, where a group of owls and penguins stood behind the camera.

Coco went up to one of the owls, "Did we miss anything?" The owl shook his head. "You're actually just in time," he squawked. Mu noticed behind him were a flock of baby birds...? They didn't look like birds at all. They were yellow, small, and didn't have any eyes. The baby birds squeaked at the sight of Mu and clung to her legs. Even though they weren't human, Mu could tell they must have been the grand kids.

Suddenly, the lights began to dim. "What's going on?" Mu asked while looking around. One of the penguins motioned to a set in front of them. The set was covered in shadows, and remained a mystery. The penguin answered her question, "We're filming the final scene for our biggest movie yet: "Shotgun Sheriff. It's a mixture of a western and musical." _Okay well... That's something different. Honestly if a movie genre is the weirdest thing to me in a world of animals and a giant ghost, I need to rethink some things._ Soon a voice was called out, "Okay birds! LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!"

Spotlights shined on the set, revealing it to be the top of a moving train. Two figures stood on top. One was a short and ragged bird, with no noticeable eyes. The other was a penguin with frizzy hair and platform shoes. Both stood there, dust storms blowing by as the train shook. The small bird stood holding a shotgun, aiming at the penguin. His strong accent made Mu realize that the Conductor was up there, probably along with Grooves too.

"So it twas you all a long," the Conductor yelled through the loud noise of the train. "The one behind the robbery, the rumors! The bird who ruined me life, twas the bird I loved." Grooves had a grin on his face, "Only one will be leaving this rooftop alive darling. And you made the mistake of coming up here." He walked over to the Conductor. "Be a shame when the folks on this train see the yellow blur of their old sheriff falling onto the tracks." The shotgun was shaking in the Conductor's hands. "Not if I kill ye first," he trembled while holding the weapon.

Suddenly, the gun was knocked out of his hands, and the two began fighting. Although while watching closely, Mu realized it wasn't just fighting. The way they stood close and moved while holding hands looked a lot like dancing. The choreography was similar to tango, but at the same time with them trying to throw the other one off the train, or grab the shotgun on the edge. Soon Grooves knocked the shotgun in the air, and grabbed it with his right flipper. He spun the Conductor around, and then aimed the gun at the owl. Mu expected the fake prop to go off, but there was no gunshot. Instead the penguin only lowered the weapon after a moment of silence. 

"I'm afraid, I have fallen for you. The bird I was supposed to frame for my own crimes."

For the final moments, the Conductor got up to hug the penguin, only to notice fake blood. Grooves collapsed with a rubber knife in his stomach. The Conductor lowered his cowboy hat, "So long, old friend."

"AND THATS A WRAP!"

The birds began rushing over to the train. The Conductor held out a hand to help Grooves up. Grooves pulled out the knife and wiped the fake blood off his chest. After a while of chatting, they finally came over to see Mu. "That was so cool!" Mu felt like jumping up and down with excitement. "The whole fight scene with the choreography was awesome!" She talked with Grooves and the Conductor for a while. Coco stood in the background, watching how thrilled Mu was. But out of Mu's sight, Coco's smile turned into a frown. The cat didn't look happy when she escorted Mu back up to find her parents waiting on the porch. And she wasn't smiling when Mu told her goodnight. But she especially didn't smile when _she_ noticed her behavior.

•••

"You could stay here forever," the other mother hinted as they walked inside the house. "That is if you want to." Mu's smile was as big as a crescent moon. "Really?" Her father clapped, "Sure! We'll sing and play games. And mother will cook your favorite foods." The three walked into the dining room, and led Mu to a chair. "There's just one tiny little thing you'll need to do," her mother chimed as she left to the kitchen.

Mu sat down and saw her mom bringing in a box. "What is it?" Her mom placed the box down and smiled. "For you, my little doll." Mu opened the box with enthusiasm. She expected something like a key to the house. Maybe a photo of the three. Or maybe a family heirloom. But that enthusiasm went away at the surprise inside. The box was empty, besides two black buttons, a spool of thread, and a single needle. She stared at the box, as a churning feeling inside her stomach grew worse and worse. _No,_ she thought. _This has to be a joke right?_

Her mother didn't look like she was joking. She only had the same smile on her face. She talked about how black buttons were traditional, but it would be fine if she preferred another color. She chuckled, "Oh, you might make me jealous!"

_No... NO..._ "NO," Mu yelled. "YOU'RE NOT SEWING BUTTONS IN MY EYES!" She shoved the box back at her parents. "Oh but we need a yes," her mother confessed. "If you wanna stay here." Her father picked up the single needle, "So sharp you won't feel a thing."

_I need to get out of here. This is wrong. This isn't right._ Mu stood up fast, almost knocking the chair over. "I'm going to bed. Right now." Her mother didn't look fazed as Mu quietly panicked to herself. She emphasized her words from early, "Oh dear. We are not pressuring you into anything. I'm not worried, soon you'll see things our way." Mu forced a smile as she slowly walked upstairs. Once out of their sight, she ran to her room and barricaded the door. She could hear the toys in her room pleading for her to stay. The butterflies flying around the canopy called out to her, "What's wrong Mu? Don't you wanna stay?" Mu proceeded to bury herself under the blankets, trying to block out their voices.

_Go to sleep. Go to sleep._

_One tiny little thing you'll need to do._

_So sharp you won't feel a thing._

_s̶̼̗̜̱͙̩͇̯͉̭̲͆̊͐̀͆̓͆͘͘̕͜ơ̶͚̫̩͉̤͖̹̦̬͍̏̿̅͋̾̅͊̑͆̊̽͠͠ǫ̸̰̭̜̘̆̌̎̈́n̶̘̟͔͕͔̹̰͒̉͊͂͊̑̀̈̈̕͠ͅͅ ̸̤͉͒͊͒͗̃͊͑͛͠y̸̩̰̩͙̻̖̪̠̤͈̼͔̣͊͋͆̌̑͛̓̽̿̏̉̅͒̚͜͝ǫ̸̠͈̗̦̗̤͑̿̌̒̌͜͜͝͝u̵̻̫͍̯̅̒͑̿̑͋̾̓̍͆̈̉͂'̶̢̬̙͉̝͎̙̠̺̃̒̅͂̐̽͌͜l̸̤̥̤̟̟̦͎̤̫̦̺̗͐̄̋̕͜l̴̨̨͔̙̜̬̗͍̺̘̼̪̥͌̒̆̀̔́̏̔̕͝ ̶̭̱͇͍̼̝͔͎̬͖̟̗̗̊͗̅̾͛̀͑̀s̵̛͔̮̱̙͚̤̬̦̬̰͕͎̙̭͓͋̋ę̶̛̜̟̺̩̀̍̊͊̔̏̈́͑̄̓̕ȩ̷̛͖͔͙̣̭̦͒̈̋̄͘͠͝͝ͅ ̸͎̖̻̘͓͈̭̮̩͙̲̲̰͗͋̈́̄̆̉͜t̷͎̄͗̋̄̃̃̋͛͊̂h̵̨̛̫̯͍͎̞͍̤̪̭̱͑̂̓̆͗̃͝ĩ̴̧̛̞̪̪̭̯̆̃̅͌̓̋̏̅̆͠ͅn̸̠̥̜̦̮͚̲̦̼̫̻̾̾̐̽͜͝g̷͈̬̭̟̿̔͐s̸̡̧̨̥̥͎̜͉͙͚̱̳̝̆̇́͗́̂̒̉͊̄̈́͊͊̓͊ͅ ̵͙͚̺̮̟̻̞͕̩̦͕͋o̵̡̲͙͙̱̠̗̗̖͕̝̿̆̎u̷͎͓͍̞͖͚̦͙̗̺̭͂̀̓͜r̵͔̹̝͔̲͙̲̰̠̽̆̈́͜͠ ̵̡͕̖̺̰̭̥̳̫̻̰̙̟̭̫͒̽̓͠w̶̢̛̹͔͕̜͉̥̠̹̪̭̽̉͛̏̅̑͐̊͜͝ͅą̸̛̛̗͇̘̙̳͓̫̱͖̺̤͓̠̔͌̅̒͑̀́̈́̍̆͝y̴̢̧͙͈͉͋͆̒̈́́͐̆͊̇̓̕_

_•••_

A few hours have passed, and somehow Mu thinks she fell asleep. She threw off the blankets, ready to be in her old boring but SAFE house. But nothing changed. She didn't leave, just like Snatcher told her too, she only stayed. And now she can't go back.


	8. That's not how the story goes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The secrets behind Subcon, Vanessa, and the kids are revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this part is where we are diving into death, gore, and other dark themes. This will be happening for the rest of the story, so get ready for some gruesome scenes.

_If I can't leave through sleeping, I'm gonna need to get to the door._ Mu removed the barricades on her door, and snuck out into the hallway. She looked around. _No mom or dad._ Mu tip toed to the nursery, and tried to enter. But the nursery was locked. There was no way to get to the exit. _Crap,_ Mu realized. _She's not gonna let me leave._ Mu then heard something coming from her dad's music room. The sound of a single piano key was echoing down the hallway. Knowing that she's gonna have to confront the parents if she wants to leave, Mu marched to the music room. Her dad was hunched over a piano, playing a single note over and over.

Mu curled her hands into a fist. "Hey you!" She shouted as she got closer. "Where's the other mother?!" Her father didn't say anything. Mu's voice quivered, "I wanna go home."

"All will be well. Soon as Vanessa is refreshed." Her father didn't turn around to face her. "Her strength is our strength-" Immediately, he gagged and raised his hands to his face. Mu felt uncomfortable seeing her father choke, as if something was holding him back. "Mustn't... Talk... When mother's not here."

Mu stomped her foot in response, "Then I'm going to go find Coco! She can help me."

"No point," her father croaked out. "She pulled a long face." Her father whipped his head around revealing the horrible state he was in. Thread was sewn into the jaw, as if it was preventing him from talking. His long fingers clawed at his face as he formed a frown. His hair was falling out in clumps as his hands pulled and tugged on his face. The way he pulled down on the skin made it look like he could tear off his flesh any second. He forced out another sentence, **"And mother didn't like it."** Then the thread began to grow and sew his mouth together as his screams of agony were now muffled.

She ran out of the room as fast as she could. Mu couldn't focus on where she was going. The haunting image of her father's face plagued her mind. Tears began to stream down her face as she threw the front door open. The forest was close, a perfect place to hide. Her pace slowed down once she was covered in the growth. Mu couldn't stop herself from crying as she walked. With no way into the nursery, she didn't know what to do anymore. As she wiped the tears away she noticed a familiar figure flying beside her. His glowing eyes seemed comforting compared to what just happened.

**"And what do you think you're doing?"**

"I'm getting out of here," Mu sniffed. "That's what I'm doing." As she walked she noticed the forest growing worse. The trees were dying, frost covered the ground, and forest fires were spreading. "What is this place? Shouldn't the road to town be here?" Snatcher lamented as they walked, **"This is my home kiddo. Or well, used to be."** Mu felt herself grow tired as she walked, and Snatcher could tell she was exhausted. So he picked her up and placed her on his back as they travelled through the forest. She hung onto his furry neck as she asked questions.

"What happened? Why does she want me?"

**"She wants something to love... Or well... Used to."** His haunting voice grew a bit more quiet as he talked. **"Honestly kid, stuff like this is better if you didn't know."** Mu made a face, "That doesn't help me answer my question." Snatcher didn't talk, as if something was holding back the words in his throat. Mu didn't bother to pry, she got the feeling that she was asking something very personal to Snatcher. And the two just met, made sense to not wanna talk about it when he doesn't know much about her.

It wasn't long until they left the forest and ended up back at the house. Mu hopped off of Snatcher, "How are we back here? We were walking away from it!"

Snatcher sneered, **"What do you think kid? We walked around the world. Small place huh, after all she can't conjure much. She only makes what she knows will impress you."** He made his way towards the trees, grabbed something from the top. He threw it down to Mu for her to catch. It was a light blue umbrella with stars printed on it. **"The nursery is the only way home. If the door is locked, use this to pry the doorknobs off. Guess you can also use it for fighting but trust me kiddo. It's not worth fighting her. Just go."**

Mu held the umbrella with two hands and turned to look at the manor. She felt fear in her stomach. "What's gonna happen to you then?" She asked Snatcher who seemed to be resting in the trees above. "Your not under her control, why can't you leave?" Snatcher fidgeted with his claws, **"I can't. Not like a ghost can leave a world he was once a part of."** He didn't look at Mu in the eyes. **"Just leave kid. And lock the door. Don't let anyone else come here, we already lost enough."**

•••

She made sure to be as stealthy as possible in the hallways. Mu looked each corner, and tried not to make a single noise as she arrived to the nursery door. Using the umbrella, she pried the doorknobs off. It took all of her strength, but they fell off one by one with a thud. Then she pushed open the door, to see the nursery shrouded in darkness. The light from the hallway lit up the exit for her. Mu gave a sigh of relief as she walked to the door. But the air grew cold, enough to make her start to shiver. She felt frost crawl up her legs. It wasn't long until Mu was stuck in place. _I can't move!_ she cried. Mu began using the umbrella to break the ice, but it was no use. A sinister laugh came from the darkness, as the lights came back on. The other mother sat on a rocking chair, ice spreading. Icicles hung above them, and soon Mu realized almost the entire nursery was destroyed and frozen. Portraits were torn, the crib had claw marks, and pillows were shredded on the floor. It reminded Mu of a temper tantrum.

"They say even the proudest spirits can be broken, **with love."** She stood up from the chair and made her way towards Mu. Her posture was hunched over, her hair was darker and knotted. She took her hand and stroke Mu's hair. "No need to be scared Mu, let's go downstairs and eat some dinner. You must be starving-"

"I want to be with my real mom and dad," Mu barked back. "I WANT YOU TO LET ME GO!" The other mother's smile turned into a snarl quite fast at those words. She yanked her hand away, pulling Mu's hair. Mu cried out in pain, but the other mother paid no mind to it. "Is that anyway to talk to your mother?!"

Mu held back her cries, and narrowed her eyes at the other mother. "You. Are NOT. My mother."

"Apologize, at once!"

"NO!"

Suddenly, her angered expression turned neutral. "I'll give you. To the count of three."

**ONE...**

She began growing taller, and bigger. She was turning into something that didn't look human.

**TWO...**

The other mother's black button eyes changed. They were now red and glowing. Her hair covered most of her face, and her clothes hung on her back like a cloak. Mu's anger left. She felt horrified at the monster.

**THREEEEEEEEEEEE!**

Mu was pulled out of the ice, the monster holding her by her hair. She screamed and kicked as the monster yanked her down the stairs. Soon she wasn't screaming over being pulled by her hair, but by hitting against the stairs. She even felt some blood run down her nose. But soon, Mu was lifted up. She felt her body thrown in the air. **"You can come out, when you learn to be a loving daughter."** Mu didn't hear a door slam, and looked up to not see a door at all. Just a wall. She kicked, and screamed. But no one came. After a few minutes, she looked around to see where she was. It wasn't like any room in the manor. It looked like a cellar, but even then it didn't look like Groove's and Conductor's home. Ice was growing around the walls and floor. It was so cold, Mu could even see her breath. She noticed broken chains against the wall, and a mask lying underneath it. It was a fox mask.

The sounds of whispering were heard behind Mu. In one of the corners, was a sheet. But what scared Mu was that something or someone was under the sheet. _"Hush... And shush... For the queen might be listening."_ Mu stuttered as she approached slowly, "You... You mean the other mother?" She reached her hand out to move the sheet off of the mass. Huddled underneath were three ghosts. Kids that looked like they were her age, with button eyes covered in old blood splatters. One was a boy with strange markings on his face and body. The other kid had darker skin, and fluffy hair with a bow on top. She was hugging the last kid. Another girl. This one was wearing a top hat.

"What happened here?" Mu felt herself choke back tears. _I could be like them... Did they never get to leave here?!_

The boy rose, _"We don't remember our names. But I remember our true mommy."_ Mu motioned towards the chains, "What's with all of this then? I want to know everything!" She sat down on the floor. "And I mean everything. That ghost guy wouldn't tell me anything!"

_"Lukas?"_ Hat kid looked up from Bow kid's arms. _"You met him too?"_ She drifted from Bow's reach and went to the chains. She traced them with her ghostly fingers. _"There once was a prince and a princess. And they lived happily ever after."_ She lookedMu with her hollow button eyes. _"But that's not how the story goes._

_The princess soon became a queen, and was rather attached to her prince. She wanted only his love, even being forceful to get it. And when the prince told her no, she would throw fits of rage. And over one misunderstanding, the princess he once knew was dead. And Vanessa changed. She locked him down here, chained him against the wall until he loved her like she did. ...He died down here, no body left behind._

_The kingdom fell under her control. She froze them all, and trapped their souls. Now only to be tailored by her for others. She lures the kids in with the doll, her only look at the outside world."_

The boy came up to Hat Kid, putting a hand on her shoulder. With no words, she nodded and sat down. The boy continued to speak, _"She saw that we weren't happy. So we lured us away from the cruel world. With treats that made us dazed. And games to keep us entertained. She gave us all what we asked for. But we still wanted more."_ Bow kid rose up from behind him, soon towering over Mu. _"So we let her s̷̱̐ͅe̸͎̜̊w̸̺̮̓͝ ̵̮̿̇t̶͈̒̀h̵̬̿̓ḙ̴̇ ̷͎͆b̶̝̼̀̉ṳ̵̄͒ͅt̴̰͂t̵͚͘o̵̝͆̿ń̵͕̋s̶̠̣͝"_

Mu felt sick at the thought. It explained the blood around their eyes, but even then it sounded horrible. Needles poking into your eyes, blinding you. Thread sealing them shut. And a button to cover it like a bandage. _How could any kid want to do that,_ Mu thought. But she thought about it a bit more. A comforting person like her could probably end up persuading any naïve kid. Manipulating them. _Making them think the world is truly horrible by making her side seem better... And I've fallen for it at the start._

_"She said that she would always love us,"_ Bow kid cried. _"But she locked us here. And ate our souls, so she can be ready for the next time she eats."_

**"Cause she found out that it was the only way she can survive here all alone without dying."**

Mu noticed the new figure that entered the cell. Snatcher's smile was gone. The ghost looked like he's seen a dead body, or having war flashbacks. He didn't notice the ghost children coming around him. In fact, more ghosts seemed to have showed up. Small wisps wearing masks showed up around Snatcher. And soon his noodle like form changed. He grew smaller, more human like. A human like hand reached out to touch the chains. **"I'm sorry for not coming back here Harriet."** The ghost now looked more human as he gave Hat kid a hug. **"It's just hard to come back here."** All of the ghosts began to comfort Snatcher, and he silently cried to himself. _The lost prince..._ Mu stood in silence, waiting for them to finish mourning.

Snatcher turned around to look at Mu, **"Hey kid. Sorry you had to see that."** Mu didn't mind, she knew that it was the first time they have all gathered like this anyways. The prince finally came to her, holding the fox mask left on the ground. **"I need you to hold onto this with your life kid. It's the only way for you to free us."** He sighed, **"I'm sorry to put that amount of pressure on you. But you might be our only hope. As long as you live, Vanessa will starve and die. This world will pass on and finally be at peace. Our souls will no longer be trapped. But not these kids."** He waved a hand towards the boy, Bow kid, and Hat kid. **"They were not meant to be here. They are stuck in limbo, and can only be freed if you find their eyes."**

Mu held the mask close to her chest. She look at the ghosts, and the dwellers. The task was heavy, and Mu didn't know if she could even do it. If she dies, then it's all for nothing. But what about home? She wanted to get back home, see her parents. Even if she dies to help them, she wants to see them one last time. "I'll try... I'll try to save you three." The children smiled at her, and Snatcher changed back to his normal form. "But how will I get out of here?"

**"I wouldn't worry about that kid."** Mu suddenly felt two furry hands grab her, pulling her into the wall. She was no longer in the cell, but back in the hallway. She was facing a mirror, and saw a masked figure holding her. She fought out of it's reach, and threw it against the wall. Taking off the mask, the figure was Coco. Well, cat Coco. Her mouth was sewn together completely, forming an eerie smile. Coco quickly hid her face with her tail. "Did she do this to you?" Mu pulled back her tail and undid the thread on her face. Coco opened her mouth, purring with relief. She grabbed Mu's hand and ran towards the nursery.

A voice called from downstairs, **"Mu! Is that you?"** Mu froze. It was Vanessa. She ran with Coco to the exit. Coco handed her two things she was holding. The same umbrella as before, and the key. "Come with me," Mu pleaded. "She'll hurt you." Coco shook her head and opened the door. The once colorful tunnel was now covered in cobwebs. Mu was shoved into the door, hearing Vanessa's screams on the other side. She began to crawl as fast as she could, holding the mask, umbrella, and key. She opened the door and quickly locked it behind her. Covered in cobwebs, she jumped up and put the stuff aside the door. However the key went straight into her pocket.

"I'm home!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhhhhhhhhhhhhh it's here we getting to the dark stuff now.


	9. Harriet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With her parents gone, Mu sees how everyone else is doing before making the choice to head back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the time I'm writing this note this story got 300 hits, and even if it's small compared to others I am grateful to have gotten this far. Despite this being my first ever fanfic, I have never felt so confident and happy with my work. After this story is done I hope to share more AHiT fanfics along with some from other fandoms I'm in.

"Mom? Dad? I'm home!" Mu left the nursery, and peaked her head through all the rooms upstairs. "HELLO? Real mom? Real dad?" No sign of her parents, even when she yelled. _Strange. They despise my loud voice, maybe they aren't home._ She looked out the window in her parent's bedroom. Their car was still parked to the side of the manor. Mu began to feel nervous. She heard the door ringing from downstairs, and that nervousness left her side. It has to be her parents. She ran downstairs to open the door, "I miss you guys so much you'll never-"

Her parents were not on the porch. Instead her neighbors were there. All of them actually. It felt weird for Mu to see Coco, considering that not long ago she saw the twisted version of Coco with the strings forcing her to to stay positive. Mark stood alongside her, but Grooves and Amos stood in front of them. All except Coco looked rather disturbed. "Ello Mu," the Conductor said slowly. He fidgeted his hands together until Grooves put his hand on his shoulder, as a comforting gesture. "Can we talk? It's rather important." Mu's joy turned sour. She sighed, and motioned them inside.

•••

"So what's the big deal? And shouldn't we wait until my parents show up?" The five sat in the living room. "What do you mean till yer parents show up?" The Conductor barked quite loud at Mu's question. "Their car was here, and yer here!" Coco stood up from her seat, "Amos, can you just tell me what's going on? Ever since that dinner party Thursday night you three have been acting so weird!" _Wait, how long was I even gone for?_ Grooves held the Conductor's hand to get him to settle down, "I promise Coco, we'll explain everything now. In fact, I believe Mu can answer most of the questions you have." Everyone turned to look at Mu. She felt her face grow hot, and soon she snapped. "YOU KNEW THIS WHOLE TIME?!" She stood on top of her seat towering over the adults, "WHY DIDN'T YOU WARN ME?!"

"Oh what would we tell ye then?!" Her rage felt matched to the Conductor as he pushed Grooves aside. "Oh hey lassie, this sounds crazy but we've heard you talkin' about some other world that we think is dangerous!" Grooves interrupted his screeching, "If it makes you feel better darling. We don't know the full story." The two calmed down after a while, and the five sat in silence. Finally Coco spoke up, "Can someone PLEASE tell me what's going on."

Mu took a deep breath, "Okay. I'll tell you what I know. BUT, you have to tell me your side of the story first." The three looked at each other, seeing who would speak up. Surprisingly enough, it was Markus. He was quiet during the entire exchange, even when they were fighting. He stood from his chair and cleared his throat. "Landlord bought abandoned manor, fixed it up long ago. Soon, people moved there. Landlord passed manor down to another. Manor stayed open for 50 years." Mu yawned, "Ugh. I don't want a history lecture. How did you guys know about the other world?"

Markus glared at Mu, "Because we didn't know until you came by. If little brat would keep quiet, Markus will explain." After a few looks from Coco for calling Mu a 'brat', he continued.

"Markus don't know how long place has stayed open for. But Markus moved here fifteen years ago. So did the angry and flashy man. It was just the three of us for a while. About five years later, little girl moved here." The Conductor looked at the ground, with sorrow in his eyes. "The lassie's name was Harriet. Such a sweet little girl. Moved here with her mother. Ye know how single parents are, they work constantly. Sure we were around while Harriet was left alone, but you can tell the girl was lonely and sad. Even when she kept on smiling, telling us she's fine."

Amos and Markus looked at Grooves, expecting him to join in. He sighed, "One day she rambled on about this magical world known as Subcon. We were all there, but she said we were different. She said how I was a-" Mu stopped him. "You were a penguin," she said. "And you were an owl. And you all had-"

"Button eyes," Grooves concluded. "Yes. It was rather odd, and we assumed it was just her playing. You know how kids are with imaginary friends and such. But it was a few days later when we got the news from her mother." The three held back, not knowing how to speak of the events that day. It was something they never hoped would happen at the manor, and not to Mu either. Finally, Grooves decided to carry the torch and finish the story.

"It was five in the morning. She was knocking on the door frantically. And when I showed up, I noticed she was crying. I can still remember it well. Her eyes red and covered in wiped tears. She looked in pure distress. She told me that when she got home from the night shift, Harriet was missing. We got Markus and Amos up and began looking through the forest before the sun had risen. We were calling out for her, the mother was starting to sob. An hour later we got the police involved. We waited for them to continue the search while staying behind to look around the manor. Looking for any clues. But there was no luck. After the search the police began investigating all of us, thinking we were responsible. And as you can guess, they found out we were innocent. She left no footprints in the forest, no notes saying goodbye. She truly just vanished out of thin air. And after a few months, they had to call off the investigation unless more evidence came to light."

The Conductor looked over to Mu, "But I'll tell ye why we know. We listened to how she talked about Subcon out of nowhere. Another world behind the little door in the nursery. She started mentioning it four days before she went missing. Afterwards, the three of us realized that it HAD to be tied together somehow. …We even wondered if it was our fault she went missing? If only we intervened, we could have prevented this from happenin'.

Coco finally spoke after listening. "It's none of your guy's fault. That theory alone would not have worked with the police. You said it yourself, it just sounded like a kid playing with toys or their imagination. There's no hard-proof evidence." She buried her head in her hands and let out a deep sigh, "I wish y'all told me about this sooner." 

"Sorry about that darling," Grooves apologized. "It's just that theory alone made us seem like lunatics, there was no big evidence." He gestured to Mu, "Until now that is. After hearing Mu's stories at the dinner party, we realized it was no coincidence. We had to warn you, before it was too late." Mu sat in silence and began to think to herself. _I met her. I saw her, not even that long ago. Those three kids must have been here. And I could have joined them._ "I saw Harriet," Mu finally spoke up as the realization hit her. The four adults looked shocked, and were about to ask questions. But Mu stopped them. "She's not alive," Mu twiddled her thumbs as she looked down. "But she wasn't the only one. There was another girl, and another boy. They must have been dead longer if you don't recognize them."

It was Mu's time to tell them everything we knew. She explained about how first a doll like her showed up, and kept appearing in random parts of the house. Then on her first night she encountered the jumping mice. Markus intervened, saying how Harriet once told him that same thing. And the more Mu talked, the more they began to agree. The stories tied together almost exactly: Preying on children who were lonely and sad, manipulating them to believe she is better than the real world, and then she kills them. She didn't know how to explain the deal with what Subcon used to be with Snatcher. _It's not too important to them. They can know that later. Right now I need a plan._ Mu began to pace in the living room, "The thing is, escaping for that first time wasn't as hard as I thought. I had help, but even then she didn't fully fight back. As if she knows I'll come back. …But that doesn't make sense. She couldn't have known I would come back for the ghost kids, she didn't see me talking with them. She probably thinks they don't exist. How could she know I would come back, and for what-"

Suddenly, it clicked. Mu's eyes widen as she silently cursed to herself before running upstairs. She heard the adults calling for her, but she didn't listen. Mu looked in her bedroom for the doll, but it wasn't there. She looked all over but couldn't find it. There was one final place, her parent's bedroom. She tore apart the blankets and looked under the bed. Something laid there, she reached and pulled it out. It was a button eye doll, which looked exactly like her mother on one side, and her father on the other. "No," she whimpered. "She took them. SHE TOOK THEM!" Mu ripped off the dolls arms and began to sob as she clutched the armless toy to her chest. "She took them from me." Mu ignored the footsteps behind her, and how Coco held her as she sobbed. _They're in danger because of me. They could be dead. It's all my fault._

The evening approached fast. The group returned to the parlor. The Conductor started a fire in the in the old furnace, and Mu chucked the puppet in. The doll slowly curled up into smoke and ashes. She sat by the flames, staring at the remaining pieces. She overheard the adults talking, and that Coco was going to make her something to eat while the three kept an eye on her.

"That's Harriet's umbrella." She eavesdropped on the Conductor holding the umbrella he noticed she brought back. He made sure to bring it to the parlor to show Grooves and Markus. "She took that umbrella almost everywhere, even when there wasn't a cloud in sight." Grooves chuckled, "I asked her why and she told me 'its always good to be prepared during an adventure!'" Markus nodded, "That sounds like her."

Mu would have heard them looking at the mask she brought back too, but she didn't care anymore. She turned around to face them. "I have to go back," Mu stated. "It's the last thing I can do to save them and help Harriet."

"Darling," Grooves pleaded. "It's a suicide mission! You're just a kid!"

"But I'm the only one that can go in and do it!"

The Conductor scolded her, "Lassie no, we don't want another death in this manor!"

"But if I don't do it all those souls in Subcon will just suffer!" Mu shouted at the top of her lungs. "I can't just leave them!"

The old man got up and sat next to Mu on the floor. His yellow hair may have covered his eyes, but Mu could tell how upset he looked. "I get it lassie, you can't deal with that guilt. But promise me you won't just march in there without a plan. Let's wait till the morning, we can help you come up with a plan. Even if you go there, we won't let you die so easily." Mu nodded, and continued watching the flames die out.

•••

12:30

The adults went their separate ways once Mu ate and was ready for bed. Coco told her that if anything happened to go straight to her, and to not face Vanessa on her own. Mu didn't sleep in her bed that night, she went to her parents room. She used the pillows to make two figures. One with her father's reading glasses, and the other with her mom's scarf. After saying goodnight to the 'mom and dad' she wept until falling asleep. And now it's past midnight. The only thing on her mind was Subcon. The idea of waiting seemed horrible. Her parents could be dead, all because of her staying. And there wasn't much she can do at the real world. "The adults can't help me," Mu told herself as she got up from bed. "I need Snatcher, he can help me stop her. I just need to go back, get his advice, and stop her."

She went back to the parlor and grabbed the umbrella and mask. If Snatcher gave her those things, then they must be important. She took some pliers and a small bag with her. After putting the mask, key, and pliers inside, she made her way to the nursery. Mu took a deep breath, shaking her shoulders. And finally, she entered Subcon for the last time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we are getting close to the end of the story! Next chapter will be quite long, I expect there will be two left and an epilogue following. I hope to have this story complete on Halloween, hence making it complete and a little AHiT halloween/coraline AU.


	10. The game (Part 1)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mu challenges Vanessa, in order to save her parents and Harriet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was going to end up as a rather large chapter. But I decided to split it up, so the conclusion to Vanessa will be next chapter! I am happy to almost be complete with this story, and again I hope to be done by Halloween. Maybe after making this spooky story I can take it easy and write some nice oneshots for the fandom. Maybe something winter themed? Either way I would like to take a break from the horror and gore and do something light hearted.

The tunnel was dark and cold. Mu felt frost growing when she got closer to the end. Mu put her hood over her head, as she shivered at the bitter cold. She opened the door slowly as to not make any noise. She peered around the nursery. There was no sign of Vanessa, no glowing red eyes waiting in the shadows. However by the closed window, the beaming yellow face lit up a quarter of the room. Mu quietly snuck over to open the window, "I thought you keep your distance from Vanessa." Snatcher backed up from the opening. **"I had a feeling you'll be coming,"** he whispered. **"Vanessa can sense when you open the door. She'll be here soon, no matter how quiet you are."** Mu picked up on the footsteps she heard coming up the stairs. **"Listen kiddo. This may have been a trap, but there is a way to have the upper hand. Challenge her. She won't play fair, but she won't refuse. Vanessa has a thing for games. Use this to your advantage to get her to reveal the eyes of the ghost children."**

As the door swung open, Snatcher was already gone. Mu froze at the sight of Vanessa. She looked distraught and crazed. And her eyes stared into Mu as she let out a horrific squeal of delight. She ran and grab Mu while laughing hysterically. **"I knew you would come back to your mother!"** She swung Mu around while cackling until Mu pried herself free. She brushed herself off and looked up at Vanessa, "Where are my parents?!"

**"Gosh, I have no idea where your old parents are."** She twirled around Mu, her cold hands also touching the girl's shoulders. **"Perhaps they never loved you and abandoned you."** Vanessa cupped Mu's face and cooed as if Mu were a puppy. **"At least now you'll have to stay with me."** Mu noticed a rat by her foot. It looked like the jumping mice from before, only more deformed and twisted. The rat was holding something they snatched from Mu. It was the key. Vanessa grabbed the key and went to lock the door. Mu ran to try and stop her, but someone grabbed her before she could. It was her other father. His face still looked sickening and he smelled of death. He groaned as he held Mu by the hood of her jacket. After Vanessa locked the door, she swallowed the key whole in her mouth. Mu's heart felt faint. Her only way out was gone for the time being. There was no going back now.

"Why don't you have your own key?" The other father mumbled before Vanessa's claws came close to his face. She gave a toothy smile and dragged her 'husband' off downstairs. Mu was left alone in the nursery. She looked around, wondering if her parents were hiding nearby. But Vanessa's calls for breakfast distracted her. Mu had to take Snatcher's advice. If she was going to get anywhere close to the eyes and her parents, she would have to trick Vanessa into a game.

The kitchen looked normal, but the large figure of Vanessa made everything feel uneasy. The food in front of her looked tempting but she knew what the ghosts said. _The food that made us dazed._ It seemed like a way to get Mu to relax and forget about everything. And she couldn't stop now. Mu sat and embraced the silence while Vanessa hummed. Then, she spoke.

"Why don't we play a game?" Vanessa perked up at Mu's words. "I know you like them."

**"Everyone likes games. …But what kind of game?"**

Mu looked up at Vanessa, "A treasure hunt, where I find things." She heard Vanessa's claws tapping against the surface of the table. **"And what will you be finding?"**

"My real parents." Vanessa didn't bite at that option. "And the eyes of the ghost children." The queen seemed interested at the idea, especially in the fact that Mu KNEW about it. **"Oh ho ho. You must have talked to my dear prince."** She talked sweetly as she fond over the prince. **"Alright. I'll play. But every game needs an award. What if you don't find them?"** Mu looked at the center of the table. The box with black button eyes was still there, as if the buttons were staring back at her. She held her breath at the idea, but it had to be done. There was nothing else she could offer. "I'll stay here then, if I win. You can love me. …And you can sew the buttons in my eyes."

**"Hmm... That sounds lovely dear. But I guess I have to ask, if you somehow WIN this game?"** Mu answered quite fast, "Then you let me go. Let everyone go! My real mother and father, the dead children, the residents of Subcon." Vanessa held out her hand to seal the deal. But Mu didn't take it. "Not until you give me a clue." Vanessa let out an annoyed sigh and stood up. **"Okay. Fine. _In each of three wonders I made just for you. A ghost eye is lost in plain sight._** **"**

Mu didn't look satisfied. "And for my parents?" But Vanessa didn't speak. She only tapped on the table with her long nails. "Fine," Mu gave in. "Don't tell me. It's a deal." Vanessa was gone in a flash as the girl blinked. Leaving Mu at the kitchen table to ponder the clue. "What does she mean by wonders?" Her eyes looked towards the window. The garden was in her field of vision. _It doesn't hurt to check there first._

The garden didn't look as magical as the nights before. Instead the plants started to wither and die. The topiaries looked decayed and watched her every move. The echoes of the hummingbirds were gone, as Mu found dead animals floating in the water. Suddenly, she felt a vine crawl up her leg. The vines from the stone walls and path were crawling over her legs trying to snare her in. She started kicking but they wouldn't let go. Frantically, she grabbed the pliers that fell from her bag when they tripped her over. She fought them off, unaware of the only remaining frog trying to grab her fox mask from her bag. Mu noticed, and chased after the frog after she was free. The frog wasn't fast enough, as Mu grabbed it in her hands and stabbed it with the pliers. It felt harsh killing an animal, but when only sand came out of the creature she felt a bit more at ease. Holding the almost stolen good, Mu held it up to examine. Out of all the things, it tried to steal a mask.

Thinking it was important, Mu slipped it on. Suddenly, a glowing green light was noticeable in the ferns. And when she took the mask off, the light was gone. Everything made sense to why she was given the mask by Snatcher, and why Vanessa would take it away. It was the only way to track down the eyes. The only advantage to this twisted game. _If Vanessa is gonna play dirty,_ she thought with determination. _Then so am I._ She made her way to the ferns to look for the eye. The glowing circle was finally noticed, as a sphere with strange markings on it. But the 'eye' was moving. Something, or someone was here to guard it. From the tangled plants emerged Vanessa's twisted puppet. It was Coco.

Coco did not look good at all. Her mouth was torn apart to prevent her from speaking properly. Her hands were tied in red string, and her legs as well. She looked like a marionette puppet. The prize was in the pocket of her coat. Mu was hoping at first Coco could help her again, but the cat wasn't the same. She screamed out and began trying to claw at Mu's face.

"I'M SORRY," the cat screeched. "SO SORRY. MOTHER... MAKING... ME."

Mu leapt out of the way and began running towards the bridge. But Coco was rather fast, and her strings started to tangle around Mu's neck. She couldn't breath, the thread growing tighter as it dragged herself back to Coco's grasp. She grabbed the pliers and threw it at Coco. Her aim was lucky, as it hit Coco in her black button eyes. The cat screamed once more before falling back into the river. However Mu noticed that the water has practically dried out, and jagged rocks laid at the bottom. And suddenly, the anguished screams died out. Mu peered over to see Coco impaled by the sharp rocks. The dying puppet's strings were broken too.

She slowly pulled the 'eye' out of her pocket, her claws shaking. "Take," she gasped as sand poured out of her body like blood. Mu leaned over and snatched it fast in case it was a trick. But no, Coco didn't do anything. In fact as soon as Mu grabbed the eye, frost started to grow rabidly over the entire garden. As if sealing it off in a tomb of ice. The eye started to glow, and gave Mu a message:

_Bless you miss._

_You found me._

_But there's two_

_we still lost._

Mu put the eye in her bag and sighed heavily. "Don't worry," she said to herself. "I'm getting the hang of it."

•••

Since the garden and Coco seemed to be the first event, Mu had a feeling on what to expect for the rest of the game. The faint sound of the movie studio got her attention. She felt a bit more confident, and looked up at the sky. The full moon was beginning to change, as a shadow started to loom over the sky. It was a timer, and Mu knew she better hurry if she was gonna make it in time to find her parents as well. 

Coco in the garden made sense, after all that is where they first met. So that meant the Conductor and Grooves waited in the studio below her. By the door was a flashlight, and she turned it on as she entered. The studio was pitch black. No sounds of workers, no flashing lights. It all felt so eerie. The girl thought she heard growling around her, but when she shined her light she didn't find anything. With only a limited light and weird sounds in the shadows, Mu was about to slip on the mask once more. But then the sound of lights turning on made her jump. From the distance was a stage. Flashing neon signs were turned off and above the stage. The spotlight from above revealed a chest in front of the curtains. She climbed onto the stage, and turned off her flashlight before pocketing it. The chest wasn't empty. It was full of movie props, ranging from western themed ones to disco. Putting on the mask, the green glow appeared once again. It was buried at the bottom of the chest. She dug through the props to discover the second eye sitting at the bottom. This one had a little bow imprinted onto it. She reached for the eye before anything could come.

But she was too late. The snarling from behind the curtains grew louder, and something pounced onto her. Mu was pinned under a familiar face... Two familiar faces. It was the Conductor and Grooves, and the two birds were sewn together. It looked as if Vanessa tore off some of their limbs but made up for it by tailoring them back together into an amalgamation. A small portion of pity sat in Mu's chest like a rock. The two friendly birds from the night before were now a hideous monster, stuck together. Not able to be oneself. Just a mindless creature in Vanessa's control.

Mu couldn't stay still for long. She noticed how the Conductor's remaining hand was holding a knife. Her strength was weakening to hold off the two on top of her, preventing the knife to getting any closer with his short arms. It was exhausting. The sounds of more growls and screeching was heard from the bottom of the stage. Little yellow monstrosities looked as if they were ready to crawl up and finish Mu off. Two obstacles. And only one chance. Using her remaining strength she kicked the knife out of the Conductor's grasp. It clattered beside her. And in only a few seconds, she took the knife and struck the director's core. The stitches tore apart and sand gushed out of their screaming bodies. She dashed and grabbed the second eye which was besides the tipped over chest.

It was perfectly timed. As soon as she grabbed it, the frost from the garden returned. Soon, all of the bodies were sealed in ice. The once grandchildren were frozen in place, and the screams of the directors were silent. The eye began to glow yet again:

_Hurry on girl._

_Her web is unwinding._

There was only one more place. The attic. Then Mu had to find her parents, and leave Vanessa for good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next part will be shared really soon, as to not keep you guys waiting! We got three more chapters though and I'll give you a sneak peak: We got the second part of the game, Mu returning, and a little epilogue portion.


	11. The game (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is only one eye left, and time is running out for Mu.

The trek to the attic was tiring. Mu already felt drained after fighting three of her neighbors. But she was so close, that her being tired couldn't stop her now. The attic door was creaked open, and Mu made her way inside.

The casino looked trashed, and the bodies of blue suited puppets leaned against the wall lifelessly. The record playing music was scratched, and the same beat was repeating as Mu took each step. The sounds of scurrying around her didn't make her scared as it should. She felt more prepared, and braced what was coming. To no surprise, the final enemy was Markus himself. The human like doll popped up from behind the bar, swaying around has if the puppet was drunk. What seemed off however was that there was no form of thread or stitching done to him. The only new addition to his face was a zipper. But even then it was hard to pay attention to it when he appeared. "Ah," the puppet said in a broken like voice. "Little girllllllllllllll." He drew on the pronouncing of his L's.

Markus began to show Mu something in his gloved hands. It was a little ball, with a hat design on it. "Is this... What you are looking forrrrr?" Mu put on the mask for a minute. The green glow confirmed it, and she tried to snatch it from him as fast as she could. But she just wasn't quick enough. "You think winning game is good thing?" Mark then disappeared behind the counter. Mu kept the mask on, watching the green glow dart around the room. Although Mu couldn't see him in the naked eye, he was moving around fast. Jumping from location to location. It made her dizzy trying to track his place.

"You'll just go home and be bored and neglected, same as always." Mu felt a hand grab onto her shoulder. "Stay here with us. We will listen to you and LAUGH with you. If you stay here, you can have whatever you want. ALWAYS!" When she turned around, Mark already left. A door behind her was open however. It was the kitchen, and a vent appeared to be open. It took a moment, but Mu used the crates around her to climb up and into the tunnel. She landed in a brand new room with red and gold accents. He sat on a tall throne, cheese covering the bottom. The odd thing Mu realized, was that Mark's mouth wasn't moving at all. His eyes weren't even showing much expression. Well, as expressive button eyes can get.

Mu approached slowly, "You don't get it do you?"

"I don't understand."

"Of course you don't understand. You're just a copy of the real Markus."

**"Not even THAT... anymore."**

The zipper down his face came undone. A rat screeched before launching himself away. More rats proceeded to leave from the gaping hole, leaving his corpse on the floor. The jumping mice circus seemed to have become a pack of rats. They swarmed Mu, taking the prized possession away. She tried chasing them, but they were too fast. Rats tackled her, slowly every step. Mu became desperate, she tried throwing the mask at the lead rat to slow it down. But of course, didn't work. The rat skillfully leaped over it and left her sight. Something tripped her and she felt body launch out the door and hit the railing of the porch hard. The entrance to the attic creaked. Gravity wasn't in favor for Mu, as the porch became unbolted from the attic and Mu plummeted to the bottom. She hit the ground rather hard, landing on her back and feeling the world spin around her. Her right arm felt numb, and her whole body ached.

With her face up at the sky, she noticed the moon almost completely covered in darkness. Time was almost out. The rat was gone, she lost the mask due to a stupid move, and she didn't even find her parents. She couldn't help but cry as she held her bag carrying the two lost eyes. _I lost the game. I lost everything._ Her crying was interrupted when she felt something fall on her face. Mu got up slowly, and felt her heart soar. It was the third eye. SOMEHOW it was here. A smile grew on her face as she noticed Snatcher looming beside her, holding a now dead rat.

**"It looked like you'll be needing this."** Mu grabbed the item and watched as the house was covered in frost. She placed the third and final eye in the bag. There was only one task left, but time was practically gone. Snatcher looked up at the moon and a look of shock filled his face. As soon as the shadow casted over, ice began to cover it like a sheet. Everything was now slowly crumbling away with the frost. **"You gotta go kiddo. Your time is up."**

Mu argued back, "But I need to find my parents!" She felt Snatcher hoist her up and the two made their way to the crumbling house. Her arm still felt in pain, but she ignored it when Snatcher threw themselves into the manor. The ice hasn't reached the inside just yet, but the withering has. The wallpaper began to peel off as Mu took each step. She noticed Snatcher floated behind her, as if the prince was watching her back. They reached the parlor, waiting for Vanessa to show up. And the ice queen emerged from the shadows. Mu realized that around the parlor were the now destroyed puppets. Coco, Conductor, Grooves, and Mark all laid against the wall lifeless. As if Vanessa planned to patch them up after finishing off Mu.

Vanessa gasped at the sight of Snatcher, **"Oh! My lovely prince has returned to save me..."** The ghost only glared at her. **"Mu, you sure have made a mess of our neighbors. Haven't I taught you to be nice?"** Mu followed Snatcher's way, and didn't respond. Vanessa shook her head and began to walk over to Mu. Her cold hand touched Mu's cheek, her voice growing rough like sand paper. **"y̵̩͓̏o̴͖̦̒͑u̵̩̬̚ ̶̭̳̌k̷̙̔͑ͅn̴͙̔̓o̸̠͆̉w̸͇̖̄ ̷͔͋͜͝I̴̼͈͊ ̶͙̹͐͠l̷̳̭̃͌o̶̥̽̿v̶̲̂͠ḛ̶̹͑̓ ̵̹̏͛y̵͂͜o̵͓͠ü̶̼̯͑.̶̘̻͝"** She gave a sweet hum as Mu snapped back. "Well, you sure have a funny way of showing it."

**"So, where are they? The ghost eyes."** Mu looked at Snatcher, and the ghost nodded in approval to take them out. She pulled them out of her bag, and showed them to Vanessa. The queen chuckled and made her move to grab the eyes away. However, Mu's reflexes were faster. "Hold on," she started. "We aren't finished yet."

Vanessa's smile went away, **"No I suppose not. After all, you still have to find your old parents."** The queen reached for something behind her, and Mu felt her body freeze. The monster was holding the fox shaped mask, and tore it apart with her claws. A faint voice came from the bag where the eyes were:

_Be clever miss._

_Even if you win_

_She'll never let_

_you go._

This was the final challenge. It wasn't just about finding her parents, but escaping too. Vanessa had the key, and the door was locked. Mu knew that she would have to trick Vanessa into giving up the key. Which meant there was only one option. "I already know where they are," Mu said in a confident voice. Vanessa trilled and looked around. **"Well? Produce them."**

"They are behind the door."

Vanessa turned towards the stairs, **"Or they are? Are they?"** She walked up the stairs. Mu's heart began to beat faster and faster. This was her only chance to find her parents. She frantically looked around the house as she followed Vanessa. The queen began to hack, and tried coughing up the key. Downstairs was no luck, there was only upstairs. By the hallway she noticed something. The three portraits were gone. Instead the silhouette pictures were replaced with figures that looked like a man and a woman. _Mom... Dad..._

From the nursery, came a singing like voice taunting her. **"You're wrong Mu. They aren't there~"** She stepped out of the nursery, brandishing the needle and thread. **"Now, you're going to stay here. FOREVER."**

**"No. SHE'S NOT!"** Mu realized that Snatcher left her side and tackled Vanessa to the ground. She heard screaming from the queen, as Snatcher began clawing off her button eyes. Mu grabbed the pictures off of the wall, and grabbed the key Vanessa dropped. She ran to the nursery, but Snatcher didn't hold her off forever. She heard a scream from the ghost and the yelling of Vanessa followed, **"YOU MISERABLE CHEATING GIRL!"** The loud footsteps of Vanessa followed her. Mu ducked into the still open door and used her good arm to close it. But Vanessa was strong, and began to pry open the door. Her face looked horrific. Her button eyes were gone and her mouth looked like nothing but realistic looking teeth.

**"YOU DARE DISOBEY YOUR MOTHER?!"** Mu kicked her off, but even then it couldn't shake Vanessa off. With one arm useless, Mu couldn't close the door to lock it. She saw Snatcher in his prince form, limping into the nursery. He grabbed Vanessa and started to pull her away. **"MY PRINCE?! LET ME GO I COMMAND YOU!"** Mu slammed the door and locked it fast. The sounds of screeching and sobbing got louder as she fled. The door began to thump as Vanessa banged on the door, trying to break it down. **"DON'T LEAVE ME! NO DON'T LEAVE ME,"** she begged as she sobbed. **"I'LL DIE WITHOUT YOU!"** The tunnel's ceiling began to collapse. Mu crawled faster and escaped before the tunnel trapped her in. She locked the door, and heard one final thud as the key flew out of the hole.

Mu panted as she collapsed on the nursery floor. Her outfit was covered in sand, some blood from her cuts, and melting snow. Inside her bag, the portraits appeared to be shattered, and the ghost eyes were all there. Mu could have laid there forever. She was so exhausted. But the sound of the door opening and her mother calling for her made her run downstairs and leap into her parent's arms.

"MOM! DAD!" She almost sobbed as she hugged them. "I MISSED YOU SO MUCH, I'M SORRY!"

"Missed us? We weren't gone that long." Her father gave her a pat on the head as he smiled. "But hey! The catalog got reviewed and they loved it! We got a lot to celebrate huh?" Her mother hugged her after her dad walked off, "Munchkin, we're sorry for yelling at you. This move has been a big stress on us, and with the new catalog too. I guess during it we didn't acknowledge your feelings too."

Mu returned the hug, "I'm sorry too. I know I've been pessimistic. I kept being so moody, that I refused to see the good things." Her mom noticed her right arm was limp during the hug, and she felt her mother analyze her arm. "Mu," she gasped. "What have you been getting into?!" Her mom took her hand and led her upstairs. "I thought I told you no rough housing! You're hurt!"

As she got her cuts and bruises taken care of, Mu noticed her parents seemed rather normal. They didn't say anything about Subcon or even acknowledged their disappearance. They only seem to recall giving Mu some space, and turning in the catalog together. But she felt as if it was for the best. After everything that happened, Mu wanted to forget most of the ordeal. But there was one more thing to do later that night...


	12. Resting souls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mu has one more thing to do before everything is concluded. She must set them free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, so close to the last chapter. I can't believe I've actually gotten this far. Hell, I didn't even think I'd complete it. After all when you are busy with school and lose motivation fast, you never really think you might be able to succeed. But I've proven myself wrong! At the moment I'm writing this chapter, I have reached around 400 hits and almost 50 kudos. I am so happy to see people enjoying my little Halloween AU. I even want to write little pieces centered around this AU in November, especially one revolved around Harriet/Hat Kid.
> 
> I'm rambling on and on, but thank you readers for reaching the end! It has been a wild month for me, and I hope to continue writing more like this down the line.

The rest of the day was rather peaceful, and Mu savored it. After getting bandaged up from her cuts and bruises, her mom looked over her arm. She concluded that Mu must have sprained or broken it and they would head to a doctor tomorrow morning. But for now, the light pink plaster that came in the first aid kit would make do. "I still don't know how you could have broken it," her mother marveled. Mu only shrugged, "Eh. Guess that's what happens to adventurous kids like me. Hell, I could show this off at school like a battle wound!"

"Language dear," her mother scolded as she put the first aid kit back in the cabinet. "Honestly I shouldn't be surprised. You run around constantly and jump over steps on the stairs." Mu stood up and moved her wrapped arm to try and stretch it a bit. "It's just how the life of a rebellious kid is mom. You wouldn't get it."

Mu spent the rest of the day out of the house with her parents. She listened to her dad ramble about the new catalog and raise they will be receiving. It felt nice seeing her parents be a bit more cheerful. The stress of moving seemed to have moved behind them. Even the ideas of living in a big manor with several neighbors, and going to a school with uniforms didn't seem as bad. _Well,_ Mu pondered. _The uniforms suck ass._ Her negative thoughts didn't cloud her mind. There was nice things Mu learned from moving here. The forest nearby seemed great for exploring. And her parents talked with Coco about redoing the garden and planting some nice flowers and vegetables (Coco requested the idea of growing food). But most importantly, everything was more at peace. With no fear of Vanessa, Mu was safe. And the families that will move in years after her will be safe as well. However, one task was left.

She saved that task until late at night. Her parents were heavy sleepers, so Mu was able to sneak out of the house with ease. She made her way to the side of the house away from their window. In the clearing were all of her neighbors. Coco ran over and hugged her tight. "Oh Mu," she cried out. "Don't ever scare us like that again!"

"Little girl can't just leave to Subcon and save everyone without telling us," Markus growled. "Little girl could have been chopped liver."

Mu rolled her eyes, "I'm fine. Seriously!" Amos came up and pointed at her arm. "Oh ye? That don't look fine to me!"

"My arm will heal either way! It was just from falling off the attic. Well, other attic." She grabbed something from her coat pocket. Three things in fact. "Are we doing this or not?"

It seemed only fair to have the four adults here when Mu burned the three eyes. They might not have known the other two kids, but they knew Harriet. Or well, not including Coco. "I'll be honest. I still don't understand all of this." She confessed as the Conductor poured lighter fluid over a small pit full of wood. "But as long as those poor kids are okay and we'll be safe, I guess that's all that matters." It wasn't long until the fire was ablaze. The warm colors danced in the pit, and Mu tossed the three eyes in. But that wasn't it. She also brought the key with her. "I think this is the only key," Mu said as she threw it in. "Now no one can open the door."

Smoke began to soar, as if the three kids were ascending to the skies above. The five stood by the fire, until Grooves spoke up. "Knowing that Harriet will be in rest, feels as if a weight has been lifted off my shoulders." The group turned to look at the old man. "For the past ten years I couldn't help but blame myself for her disappearance. Before now I believed she ran away from here. I believed that she just wanted to have a better life, so she left us behind. I blamed myself. If only we were there for her, if only we reached out when she was lonely. I know it's no one's fault, not even hers. I am not happy, but at least I feel as if I can finally mourn. Knowing that she is free."

"Ai," the Conductor chimed in. "I hope all those other lasses are at peace too. Even though we never knew the other two, I pray they be up there with Harriet. Or at least wherever we go when we die." Markus gave a huff of approval. Soon the flames began to die out, the glowing embers remaining. Mu felt Markus give her a pat on the back, "You done good." He then proceeded to walk off, no goodbye given. "It's gettin' late," the Conductor yawned. "I'd better make sure the kids are still sleepin'."

Mu watched as the adults gave their farewells and parted ways. All except for Grooves. He walked up to Mu, holding a piece of paper in his hands. "I've been holding onto it for quite a long time." Mu took it from his hands and read it to herself. It was a phone number, a name scribbled underneath. _Victoria Hatmen._ "It belongs to Harriet's mother," he told her. "I don't know if it's her same number after all these years. Point is, I was wondering if you think Victoria should know the truth about Harriet."

She stared at the paper in her hands. The poor mother. Mu knew from the others she fell into a state of depression after Harriet's disappearance. So struck by grief that she refused to go back to the manor. Out of all people, she should know. But at the same time, would it be for the best? It was ten years ago, did Victoria really need to know about the truth? Or maybe we was better off with just believing her daughter is not dead, just gone. Mu stashed the paper in her pocket. There was only one way to find out. Grooves had already walked off to join Amos. Mu was alone, in the cold, by the firepit. And with one last look at the melted key, she made her way back inside.


	13. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a few months later, and someone has stopped by the manor.

It has been three months since the incident in Subcon. Mu's arm healed just in time for school to start. It was just like she expected; boring and dull. But it wasn't all so bad. Mu made friends with some other rebellious kids like her. Although the uniform was something she could never enjoy. But hey, things seemed better hanging around her new friends. Even if it hasn't been long, she felt as if she's known them for years.

The day was Sunday, and after finishing her homework, Mu went outside to join Coco in the garden. And while the garden might never be as magical as the one in Subcon, she still loved it. The mixture of different flowers were planted by the stone walls. And around the center was Coco's very own herb and vegetable plot. Mu sat by the stone bricks as Coco gathered the new peppers growing that she just planted a month ago. The day was rather nice, but Mu was outside for a certain reason. It took a while to arrange it, but Mu got in contact with Victoria. She told her over the phone about how she and the neighbors found out what happened and can show her everything. However, she warned her that it may seem rather bizarre and fake. And because of this, she didn't have to go if she didn't want to. But Victoria agreed she would come Sunday morning.

Soon, Mu heard the sounds of an engine pulling into the long narrow driveways. A light blue car with an unfamiliar license plate had arrived. Leaving Coco's side, Mu ran to the front side of the manor. The three neighbors have beat her to it. They were chatting with the guest, after all it has been ten years since they've seen her. Mu saw her face when Victoria turned around to greet her. Her eyes still looked sad and droopy. She looked pale and thin. But through her appearance, there was something in her sullen eyes. A gleam of hope, of new information. After ten years she will learn the truth about her daughter. Victoria believed Harriet ran away because she wasn't a good parent for ten years. And now those worries can be put to ease.

Mu cleared her throat and held out her hand, "My name is Mu. And I got so much to tell you."


End file.
